OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 


A  MOTHER  AND  HER*DAUGHTER  FROM  TUNIS 


Our  Moslem  Sisters 


A  Cry  of  Need  from  Lands  of  Darkness 
Interpreted   by  Those   Who    Heard  It 


EDITED  BY 

ANNIE  VAN  SOMMER 

AND 

SAMUEL  M.  ZWEMER 


NEW  YORK  CHICAGO  TORONTO 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

LONDON       AND       EDINBURGH 


Copyright,  1907,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York  :  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago :  80  Wabash  Avenue 
Toronto  :  25  Richmond  St.,  W. 
London  :  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh :  100  Princes  Street 


INTRODUCTION 

THIS  book  with  its  sad,  reiterated  story  of  wrong 
and  oppression  is  an  indictment  and  an  appeal.  It 
is  an  indictment  of  the  system  which  produces 
results  so  pitiful.  It  is  an  appeal  to  Christian 
womanhood  to  right  these  wrongs  and  enlighten  this 
darkness  by  sacrifice  and  service.  At  the  recent 
Mohammedan  Educational  Conference  in  Bombay 
the  president  of  the  gathering,  the  Agha  Khan,  him- 
self a  leading  Moslem,  spoke  very  trenchantly  of  the 
chief  barriers  to  progress  in  the  Moslem  world. 
The  first  and  greatest  of  these  barriers  in  his  opinion 
was  "the  seclusion  of  women  which  results  in  keep- 
ing half  the  community  in  ignorance  and  degrada- 
tion and  this  hinders  the  progress  of  the  whole." 
Surely  the  ignorance  and  degradation  of  one-half 
of  a  community  which  has  a  world  population  of 
233  millions  is  a  question  that  concerns  all  who 
love  humanity. 

The  origin  of  the  veil  of  Islam  was,  as  is  well 
known,  one  of  the  marriage  affairs  of  Mohammed 
himself,  with  its  appropriate  revelation  from  Allah. 
In  the  twenty-fourth  Surah  of  the  Koran  women 
are  forbidden  to  appear  unveiled  before  any  member 
of  the  other  sex,  with  the  exception  of  near  relatives. 

5 


6  INTRODUCTION 

And  so  by  one  verse  the  bright,  refining,  elevating 
influence  of  women  was  forever  withdrawn  from 
Moslem  society.  The  evils  of  the  zenana,  the 
seraglio,  the  harem,  or  by  whatever  name  it  is  called, 
are  writ  large  over  all  the  social  life  of  the  Moslem 
world.  Keene  says  it  "lies  at  the  root  of  all  the 
most  important  features  that  differentiate  progress 
from  stagnation." 

In  Arabia  before  the  advent  of  Islam  it  was  cus- 
tomary to  bury  female  infants  alive.  Mohammed 
improved  on  the  barbaric  method  and  discovered  a 
way  by  which  all  females  could  be  buried  alive  and 
yet  live  on — namely,  the  veil.  How  they  live  on, 
this  book  tells!  Its  chapters  are  not  cunningly  de- 
vised fables  nor  stories  told  for  the  story's  sake. 
Men  and  women  who  have  given  of  their  strength 
and  service,  their  love  and  their  life  to  ameliorate 
the  lives  of  Moslem  women  and  carry  the  torch 
of  Truth  into  these  lands  of  darkness  write  simply 
the  truth  in  a  straightforward  way.  All  the  chap- 
ters were  written  by  missionaries  in  the  various 
lands  represented.  And  with  three  exceptions  the 
writers  were  women.  The  chapter  on  Turkestan  is 
by  a  converted  Moslem ;  and  the  two  chapters  on  the 
Yemen  and  the  Central  Soudan  are  by  medical  mis- 
sionaries. The  book  has  as  many  authors  as  there 
are  chapters.  For  obvious  reasons  their  names  are 
not  published,  but  their  testimony  is  unimpeachable 
and  unanimous.  We  read  what  their  eyes  have 
seen,  what  their  hands  have  handled,  and  what 


INTRODUCTION  7 

has  stirred  their  hearts.  It  has  stirred  the  hearts 
of  educated  Moslems  too,  in  Egypt  as  well  as  in 
India.  A  new  book  on  this  very  subject  was 
recently  published  at  Cairo  by  Kasim  Ameen,  a 
learned  Moslem  jurist.  Although  he  denies  that 
Islam  is  the  cause,  yet  speaking  of  the  present  rela- 
tion of  the  Mohammedan  woman  to  man  the  author 
says: 

"Man  is  the  absolute  master  and  woman  the 
slave.  She  is  the  object  of  his  sensual  pleasures,  a 
toy,  as  it  were,  with  which  he  plays,  whenever  and 
however  he  pleases.  Knowledge  is  his,  ignorance 
is  hers.  The  firmament  and  the  light  are  his,  dark- 
ness and  the  dungeon  are  hers.  His  is  to  command, 
hers  is  to  blindly  obey.  His  is  everything  that  is, 
and  she  is  an  insignificant  part  of  that  everything. 

"Ask  those  that  are  married  if  they  are  loved  by 
their  wives,  and  they  will  answer  in  the  affirmative. 
The  truth,  however,  is  the  reverse.  I  have  per- 
sonally investigated  the  conditions  of  a  number  of 
families  that  are  supposed  to  be  living  in  harmony, 
peace,  and  love,  and  I  have  not  found  one  husband 
who  truly  loved  his  wife,  or  one  wife  who  evinced 
a  sincere  affection  for  her  husband.  This  outward 
appearance  of  peace  and  harmony — this  thin  veneer- 
ing— only  means  one  of  three  things,  namely,  either 
the  husband  is  made  callous  and  nonchalant  by  in- 
cessant strife,  and  has  finally  determined  to  let  things 
take  their  course;  or  the  wife  allows  herself  to  be 
utilized  as  an  ordinary  chattel,  without  uttering  a 


8  INTRODUCTION 

protest;  or  both  parties  are  ignorant  and  do  not 
appreciate  the  true  value  of  life.  In  this  last  case, 
the  parties  are  nearer  to  a  sort  of  happiness  than  in 
the  former  two,  although  their  happiness  is  negative 
in  quantity  and  evanescent  in  nature."  .... 
The  writers  of  the  following  chapters  believe  that 
the  only  remedy  for  these  social  evils  is  the  Gospel. 
That  is  why  they  write. 

The  occasion  that  led  to  the  preparation  and  col- 
lection of  this  series  of  papers  was  the  Cairo  Con- 
ference. One  of  the  most  interesting  sessions  of 
that  first  general  Conference  on  behalf  of  the  Mo- 
hammedan world,  held  -at  Cairo  April  4-9,  1906, 
was  that  on  Woman's  Work  for  Women.  But  the 
time  was  far  too  short  nor  had  there  been  prepara- 
tion for  a  full  and  free  presentation  and  discussion 
of  the  condition  and  needs  of  our  Moslem  sisters. 
Those  that  loved  them  felt  this  and  yet  the  women 
present  seized  the  opportunity  and  unitedly  sent 
forth  the  following  appeal,  endorsed  by  the  whole 
Conference : 

"Women's  ''Appeal. 

"We,  the  women  missionaries,  assembled  at  the 
Cairo  Conference,  would  send  this  appeal  on  behalf 
of  the  women  of  Moslem  lands  to  all  the  women's 
missionary  boards  and  committees  of  Great  Britain, 
America,  Canada,  France,  Germany,  Switzerland, 
Denmark,  Norway,  Sweden,  Holland,  Australia, 
and  New  Zealand. 


INTRODUCTION  9 

"While  we  have  heard  with  deep  thankfulness 
of  many  signs  of  God's  blessing  on  the  efforts  al- 
ready put  forth,  yet  we  have  been  appalled  at  the 
reports  which  have  been  sent  in  to  the  Conference 
from  all  parts  of  the  Moslem  world,  showing  us 
only  too  plainly  that  as  yet  but  a  fringe  of  this 
great  work  has  been  touched. 

"The  same  story  has  come  from  India,  Persia, 
Arabia,  Africa,  and  other  Mohammedan  lands,  mak- 
ing evident  that  the  condition  of  women  under  Islam 
is  everywhere  the  same — and  that  there  is  no  hope 
of  effectually  remedying  the  spiritual,  moral,  and 
physical  ills  which  they  suffer,  except  to  take  them 
the  message  of  the  Saviour,  and  that  there  is  no 
chance  of  their  hearing,  unless  we  give  ourselves  to 
the  work.  No  one  else  will  do  it.  This  lays  a 
heavy  responsibility  on  all  Christian  women. 

"The  number  of  Moslem  zvomen  is  so  vast — not 
less  than  one  hundred  million — that  any  adequate 
effort  to  meet  the  need  must  be  on  a  scale  far  wider 
than  has  ever  yet  been  attempted. 

"We  do  not  suggest  new  organizations,  but  that 
every  church  and  board  of  missions  at  present  work- 
ing in  Moslem  lands  should  take  up  their  own 
women's  branch  of  work  with  an  altogether  new 
ideal  before  them,  determining  to  reach  the  whole 
world  of  Moslem  women  in  this  generation.  Each 
part  of  the  women's  work  being  already  carried  on 
needs  to  be  widely  extended.  Trained  and  con- 
secrated women  doctors;  trained  and  consecrated 


io  INTRODUCTION 

women  teachers;  groups  of  women  workers  in  the 
villages;  an  army  of  those  with  love  in  their  hearts 
to  seek  and  save  the  lost.  And,  with  the  willingness 
to  take  up  this  burden,  so  long  neglected,  for  the 
salvation  of  Mohammedan  women,  even  though  it 
may  prove  a  very  cross  of  Calvary  to  some  of  us, 
we  shall  hear  our  Master's  voice  afresh  ringing 
words  of  encouragement :  'Have  faith  in  God.  For 
verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  whosoever  shall  say  unto 
this  mountain,  Be  thou  removed,  and  be  thou  cast 
into  the  sea,  and  shall  not  doubt  in  his  heart,  but 
shall  believe  that  these  things  which  He  saith  shall 
come  to  pass,  he  shall  have  whatsoever  he  saith.' 
'Nothing  shall  be  impossible  unto  you.'  " 

That  this  wonderful  appeal  might  reach  a  wider 
circle  and  that  its  skeleton  form  might  be  clothed 
with  the  flesh  and  blood  of  real  life  experiences  and 
so  be  not  a  resolution  but  a  revelation, — this  book 
was  written.  May  God  give  its  message  wings 
through  His  Spirit 

S.  M.  ZWEMER. 
HOLLAND,  MICH., 
February,  1907. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  HAGAR  AND  HER  SISTERS 15 

II.  EGYPT,  THE  LAND  OF  BONDAGE  ....  24 

III.  FROM  UNDER  THE  YOKE  OF  SOCIAL  EVILS         .  38 

IV.  THE  WOMEN  OF  EGYPT  ONCE  MORE  ...  60 
V.  BEHIND  THE  OPENING  DOOR  IN  TUNIS        .        .  72 

VI.  "NOT  DEAD,  ONLY  DRY" 89 

VII.  LIGHT  IN  DARKEST  MOROCCO       ....      99 

VIII.  MOHAMMEDAN  WOMEN  IN  THE  CENTRAL  SOUDAN    118 

IX.  A  STORY  FROM  EAST  AFRICA       ....     131 

X.  OUR  ARABIAN  SISTERS 135 

XI.  WOMEN'S  LIFE  IN  THE  YEMEN     .        .        .        .146 

XII.  PEN-AND-INK  SKETCHES  IN  PALESTINE         .        .     152 

XIII.  ONCE  MORE  IN  PALESTINE 164 

XIV.  MOHAMMEDAN  WOMEN  IN  SYRIA          .        .        .174 
XV.  BEHIND  THE  LATTICE  IN  TURKEY        .        .        .192 

XVI.    A  VOICE  FROM  BULGARIA 204 

XVII.     DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA          .        .     207 
XVIII.     DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA  (PART  II)  .     228 

XIX.    THE   CONDITION   OF    MOHAMMEDAN   WOMEN    IN 

BALUCHISTAN 249 

XX.     IN  SOUTHERN  INDIA 253 

ii 


12  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAOE 

XXI.  THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WOMEN  OF  TURKESTAN  .    263 

XXII.  IN  FAR-OFF  CATHAY     .        .        .        .     *  .  .276 

XXIII.  OUR  MOSLEM  SISTERS  IN  JAVA     ....     283 

XXIV.  THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WOMEN  OF  MALAYSIA  .  .    287 
XXV.  "WHAT  WILT  THOU  HAVE  ME  TO  Do?"  .  .    293 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facing  page 
A  MOTHER  AND  HER  DAUGHTER  FROM  TUNIS  .        .         TITLE 

DAUGHTERS  OF  EGYPT 24 

BARGAINS  IN  ORANGES 60 

BY  THE  BANKS  OF  THE  NILE 60 

DOROTHY  AND  FATIMAH 78 

ARAB  WOMAN  ENTERING  SAINT'S  TOMB     ....  82 

TYPES  IN  TUNIS  AND  ALGIERS 90 

A  YOUNG  GIRL  OF  THE  ABU  SAAD  TRIBE          ...  96 

A  BEDOUIN  GIRL  FROM  NORTH  AFRICA      ....  102 
GOING  TO  MARKET — Two  BURDEN  BEARERS      .        .        .126 

WOMEN  CHURNING  BUTTER  IN  BEDOUIN  CAMP  (Arabia)    .  136 

MOSLEM  AND  CHRISTIAN  CEMETERY,  ETC 160 

A  VILLAGE  SCHOOL  IN  SYRIA — MOSLEM  AND  CHRISTIAN, 

ETC 170 

A  FAMILY  GROUP  AT  JERICHO 176 

MAT-MAKERS  (Persia) :  INDOOR  DRESS  (Northern  Persia)  .  228 

MOSLEM  WOMEN  OF  THE  BETTER  CLASS  IN  STREET  DRESS 

(Syria) 264 

A  CRY  OF  DISTRESS  FROM  ALGIERS 294 


"  All  that  took  them  captives  hold  them  fast,  they  refuse  to 
let  them  go.  Their  Redeemer  is  strong,  the  Lord  of  Hosts  is 
His  name ;  He  shall  thoroughly  plead  their  cause." — JEREMIAH 
1-  33.  34- 

"  Deliver  them  that  are  carried  away  unto  death,  and  those 
that  are  tottering  to  the  slaughter  see  that  thou  hold  back.  If 
thou  sayest,  Behold  we  knew  not  this,  doth  not  He  that 
weigheth  the  hearts  consider  it.  and  He  that  keepeth  thy  soul, 
doth  not  He  know  it  ?  and  shall  not  He  render  to  every  man 
according  to  his  works  ?  "—PROVERBS  xxiv.  u,  12.  (R.  V.) 

"  Open  thy  mouth  for  the  dumb  in  the  cause  of  all  such  as 
are  left  desolate.  Open  thy  mouth,  judge  righteously,  and 
minister  judgment  to  the  poor  and  needy." — PROVERBS 
xxxi.  8,  9.  (R.  V.) 


OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 


HAGAR  AND  HER  SISTERS 

"WE  must  concentrate  attention  upon  the  mothers, 
for  what  the  mothers  are,  the  children  will  be." 
These  words,  spoken  recently  by  a  British  states- 
man, are  but  the  thoughts  of  many  who  have  tried 
to  save  the  children.  And  in  looking  at  the  mil- 
lions of  Moslems  in  the  world  to-day,  and  wonder- 
ing why  they  are  still  as  they  were  a  thousand  years 
ago,  rather  drifting  backward  than  advancing,  we 
turn  to  their  women  and  find  the  cause.  Moham- 
medan law,  custom,  and  the  example  of  their 
founder  place  woman  on  a  level  with  beasts  of 
burden  and  no  nation  rises  above  the  level  of  its 
women. 

The  Lord  Jesus  is  the  only  prophet  come  to  this 
world  who  has  raised  women  to  what  God  meant 
them  to  be.  It  is  only  He  who  can  save  our  Moslem 
sisters.  When  Hagar  returns  to  Christ  Ishmael 
shall  live. 

The  story  of  Hagar,  the  mother  of  the  Arabs,  tells 
us  of  a  young  girl  sacrificed  for  the  scheme  and 

15 


16  OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

then  the  jealousy  of  an  older  woman  who  should 
have  loved  and  pitied  her.  And  it  seems  to  some 
of  us  that  it  needs  the  widespread  love  and  pity 
of  the  women  of  our  day  in  Christian  lands  to 
seek  and  save  the  suffering  sinful  needy  women  of 
Islam. 

You  cannot  know  how  great  the  need  unless  you 
are  told;  you  will  never  go  and  find  them  until  you 
hear  their  cry.  And  they  will  never  cry  for  them- 
selves, for  they  are  down  under  the  yoke  of  centuries 
of  oppression,  and  their  hearts  have  no  hope  or 
knowledge  of  anything  better. 

And  so  to-day,  we  want  to  make  our  voices  heard 
for  them.  We  want  to  tell  you,  our  sisters  at  home, 
in  words  so  plain  that  you  can  never  again  say: 
"Behold,  we  knew  it  not." 

"In  the  mouth  of  two  witnesses  shall  every  word 
be  established,"  was  the  law  of  Moses.  In  this  book 
you  have  the  evidence  of  more  than  a  score  of  wit- 
nesses and  they  all  speak  the  same  things.  Each  one 
tells  only  that  which  she  knows.  No  incident  is 
given  without  personal  knowledge,  and  most  of  the 
writers  have  the  experience  of  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty 
years  in  the  midst  of  the  people  of  whom  they  tell. 

Although  we  claim  no  literary  merit,  we  have  a 
thrilling  story  and  plead  for  a  hearing. 

Read  for  yourselves  what  is  going  on  in  the 
lives  of  a  hundred  million  women  in  the  world  to- 
day and  take  this  burden  on  your  hearts  before 
God. 


HAGAR    AND    HER    SISTERS       17 

A  long  tress  of  dark  hair,  a  white  veil,  a  bit  of 
flower,  and  a  shining  necklace.  They  are  there 
above  the  bier  of  a  young  bride  carried  past  our 
window  to  her  grave.  There  was  another  one  yes- 
terday, and  there  will  be  more  to-morrow.  Hun- 
dreds of  child-wives  and  sixty-two  per  cent,  they  tell 
us  of  all  the  babies  born  here,  in  Egypt,  are  taken 
to  an  early  grave.  We  cannot  know  these  things 
and  not  call  upon  you,  our  sisters,  to  come  and  try 
to  save  them.  They  are  passing  away  in  an  endless 
procession,  without  ever  having  heard  of  Jesus, 
without  ever  'knowing  that  He  died  for  them, 
that  an  eternity  of  gladness  and  love  may  be 
theirs. 

Although  the  voices  in  this  book  sound  from 
many  lands :  Egypt,  Tunis,  Algiers,  Morocco,  Hausa 
Land,  East  Africa,  Arabia,  Palestine,  Syria,  Turkey, 
Bulgaria,  Persia,  India,  one  story  is  told  and  one 
cry  heard  everywhere.  There  has  been  no  communi- 
cation between  the  writers,  but  there  is  absolute 
identity  of  evidence  because  all  the  Moslems  of  these 
lands  are  under  Mohammedan  law. 

The  world-wide  suffering  of  Moslem  women 
makes  us  read  with  wonder  such  words  as  were 
recently  spoken  by  the  secretary  of  the  Pan-Islamic 
Society:  "The  Renaissance  of  Islam  means  the 
renaissance  of  humanity."  Does  the  speaker  think 
we  are  all  blind,  and  deaf,  and  ignorant?  These 
pages  may  enlighten  him.  We  read  further  Mus- 
tapha  Pasha  Kamel's  own  words  and  tell  him  that 


i8  OUR    M'OSLEM    SISTERS 

in  these  he  speaks  the  truth.  They  were  spoken  to 
his  own  fellow-Moslems. 

Mustapha  Pasha  Kamel  said  in  the  course  of  his 
speech  to  his  co-religionists: 

"Conquer  with  the  force  of  knowledge  and  his- 
tory the  strong  fortresses  of  prejudice  and  bigotry, 
and  open  wide  the  gates  of  your  heart  for  the  recep- 
tion of  Truth  and  Light.  For  a  conquered  people 
there  is  no  cure  better  than  a  passionate  devotion 
to  Truth.  Be  ye,  therefore,  messengers  of  Light 
and  Truth,  the  missionaries  of  brilliant  and  tri- 
umphant Truth,  the  army  of  physicians  prescribing 
the  bitter  pills  of  Truth.  Tell  the  effete  and  feeble 
rulers  and  princes,  'Awake  from  your  deep  slumber. 
Recover  soon  from  your  drunkenness  caused  by  the 
possession  of  absolute  authority,  the  boast  of  her- 
aldry, and  the  braveries  of  pomp  and  pageantry. 
Awake  ye,  before  the  depth  of  degradation  into 
which  your  subjects  have  fallen  sound  the  death- 
knell  of  your  rule  and  shake  the  very  foundations 
of  your  throne.  Awake  before  the  day  overtakes 
you  when  repentance  and  regrets  will  be  of  no 
avail.'  Tell  the  rich  who  waste  so  much  of  their 
wealth  in  the  pursuit  of  ignoble  pleasures,  and  who 
do  not  spare  a  farthing  for  a  noble  cause,  'Awake 
before  it  is  too  late.  Do  not  forget  in  the  midnight 
of  your  intoxication  that  a  bitter  day  of  reckoning 
awaits  you.  Awake,  arise,  or  be  for  ever  fallen. 
Your  fates  are  bound  up  with  those  of  your  people 
and  your  glory  depends  upon  their  prosperity.  If 


HAGAR    AND    HER    SISTERS      19 

they  rise,  you  rise.  If  they  fall,  you  fall  with  them. 
Wealth  is  a  poison  if  it  becomes  an  instrument  of 
evil;  a  life-giving  antidote  when  devoted  to  a  noble 
purpose.  Regard  it  therefore  as  a  divine  gift  and 
a  sacred  trust.'  Tell  the  people  who  live  the  life  of 
animals  and  are  led  like  dumb  cattle:  'Awake,  and 
realize  the  true  significance  of  life.  Fill  the  earth 
and  adorn  it  with  the  result  of  your  labors.'  Gen- 
tlemen, you  alone  can  make  them  understand  the  full 
meaning  of  life.  O  physicians!  the  patient  is  in  a 
critical  state,  and  delay  spells  death."  .... 

If  the  thinking  men  of  the  Mohammedan  world 
really  believe  what  is  here  said  to  them  by  their 
own  champion,  we  ask  them  will  they  not  seek  unto 
God  for  a  remedy?  And  it  may  be  He  will 
turn  their  thoughts  to  their  own  homes,  and  let 
them  see  what  is,  why  it  is,  and  to  think  what 
might  be. 

The  homes  of  the  sons  of  Ishmael  might  be  happy 
and  united,  the  abode  of  gladness  and  family  love, 
but  they  are  the  opposite  of  this.  Few  Moham- 
medans know  that  such  a  home  is  possible.  They 
only  know  a  place  full  of  jealousy,  of  quarrelling  and 
evil  talk.  What  wonder  that  they  have  the  proverb : 
"The  threshold  of  the  house  weeps  for  forty  days 
when  a  girl  is  born." 

Unwelcome  at  birth,  unloved  in  her  life-time,  with- 
out hope  in  her  death;  and  she  might  be  the  joy  of 
your  heart,  the  life  of  your  home,  and  the  hope  of 
your  old  age.  Will  you  not  ask  yourselves,  our 


20  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

brothers,  can  these  things  be  ?  "Have  we  wandered 
in  the  dark  for  centuries,  misled  by  blind  leaders  of 
the  blind,  and  missing  the  good  things  offered  us  by 
the  God  of  Ishmael?"  It  was  through  Hagar  his 
mother  that  Ishmael  lived. 

"She  sat  over  against  him,  and  lift  up  her  voice 
and  wept.  And  God  heard  the  voice  of  the  lad,  and 
the  angel  of  God  called  to  Hagar  out  of  heaven,  and 
said  unto  her,  What  aileth  thee,  Hagar f  fear  not,  for 
God  hath  heard  the  voice  of  the  lad  where  he  is. 
Arise,  lift  up  the  lad  and  hold  him  in  thine  hand;  for 
I  will  make  him  a  great  nation.  And  God  opened 
her  eyes,  and  she  saw  a  well  of  water;  and  she  went 
and  filled  the  bottles  with  water,  and  gave  the  lad 
drink.  And  God  was  with  the  lad,  and  he  grew,  and 
dwelt  in  the  wilderness." 

To-day  we  cry  to  our  Father  in  Heaven  to  let  us 
be  the  messengers  of  comfort  to  Hagar — and  we  will 
ask  Him  to  open  her  eyes  that  she  may  see  the  Well 
of  the  Water  of  Life,  and  that  she  may  hold  it  to  the 
lips  of  her  sons  and  daughters  in  the  Moslem  world. 
The  following  touching  incident  and  poem  by  one 
who  has  labored  long  among  Moslem  women  in 
Persia  may  well  be  our  opening  prayer  ere  we 
hear  the  cry  of  need  from  distant  lands  in  these 
chapters : — 

"It  was  the  Communion  Day  in  our  Church,  and 
the  service  proceeded  as  usual.  My  thoughts  were 
all  of  my  own  unworthiness  and  Christ's  love  to 
mej  until  Mr.  E.  asked  the  question  nobody  ever 


HAGAR    AND    HER    SISTERS      21 

notices,  'Has  any  one  been  omitted  in  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  bread  ?'  And  it  seemed  to  me  I  could  see 
millions  on  millions  of  women  rising  silently  in 
India,  Africa,  Siam,  Persia,  in  all  the  countries 
where  they  need  the  Lord,  but  know  Him  not,  to 
testify  that  they  had  been  omitted  in  the  distribution 
of  the  bread  and  cup!  And  they  can  take  it  from 
no  hands  but  ours,  and  we  do  not  pass  it  on.  Can 
Jesus  make  heaven  so  sweet  and  calm  that  we  can 
forgive  ourselves  this  great  neglect  of  the  millions 
living  now,  for  whom  the  body  was  broken  and  the 
blood  shed,  just  as  much  as  for  us?" 

The  feast  was  spread,  the  solemn  words  were  spoken; 

Humbly  my  soul  drew  near  to  meet  her  Lord, 
To  plead  His  sacrificial  body  broken, 

His  blood  for  me  outpoured. 

Confessing  all  my  manifold  transgression, 
Weeping,  to  cast  myself  before  His  throne, 

Praying  His  Spirit  to  take  full  possession, 
And  seal  me  all  His  own. 


On  Him  I  laid  each  burden  I  was  bearing, 
The  anxious  mind,  of  strength  so  oft  bereft, 

The  future  dim,  the  children  of  my  caring, 
All  on  His  heart  I  left. 


"How  could  I  live,  my  Lord,"  I  cried,  "  without  Thee! 

How  for  a  single  day  this  pathway  trace, 
And  feel  no  loving  arm  thrown  round  about  me, 

No  all-sustaining  grace  ? 


22  OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

"Oh  show  me  how  to  thank  Thee,  praise  Thee,  love  Thee, 
For  these  rich  gifts  bestowed  on  sinful  me, 

The  rainbow  hope  that  spans  the  sky  above  me, 
The  promised  rest  with  Thee." 

As  if  indeed  He  spoke  the  answer,  fitted 
Into  my  prayer,  the  pastor's  voice  came  up: 

"Let  any  rise  if  they  have  been  omitted 
When  passed  the  bread  and  cup." 

Sudden,  before  my  inward,  open  vision, 

Millions  of  faces  crowded  up  to  view, 
Sad  eyes  that  said,  "For  us  is  no  provision; 

Give  us  your  Saviour,  too!" 

Sorrowful  women's  faces,  hungry,  yearning, 
Wild  with  despair,  or  dark  with  sin  and  dread, 

Worn  with  long  weeping  for  the  unreturning, 
Hopeless,  uncomforted. 

"Give  us,"  they  cry;  "your  cup  of  consolation 
Never  to  our  outstretching  hands  is  passed, 

We  long  for  the  Desire  of  every  nation, 
And  oh,  we  die  so  fast! 

"Does  He  not  love  us,  too,  this  gracious  Master? 

'Tis  from  your  hand  alone  we  can  receive 
The  bounty  of  His  grace;  oh,  send  it  faster, 

That  we  may  take  and  live!" 

"Master,"  I  said,  as  from  a  dream  awaking, 
"Is  this  the  service  Thou  dost  show  to  me? 

Dost  Thou  to  me  entrust  Thy  bread  for  breaking 
To  those  who  cry  for  Thee? 

"Dear  Heart  of  Love,  canst  Thou  forgive  the  blindness 

That  let  Thy  child  sit  selfish  and  at  ease 
By  the  full  table  of  Thy  loving  kindness, 

And  take  no  thought  for  these? 


HAGAR    AND    HER    SISTERS      23 

"As  Thou  hast  loved  me,  let  me  love;  returning 
To  these  dark  souls  the  grace  Thou  givest  me; 

And  oh,  to  me  impart  Thy  deathless  yearning 
To  draw  the  lost  to  Thee! 

"Nor  let  me  cease  to  spread  Thy  glad  salvation, 

Till  Thou  shall  call  me  to  partake  above, 
Where  the  redeemed  of  every  tribe  and  nation 
Sit  at  Thy  feast  of  love!" 

—ANNIE  VAN  SOMMER, 
Alexandria,  Egypt. 


II 

EGYPT,   THE   LAND  OF  BONDAGE 

EGYPT  was  the  home  of  the  earliest  civilization  in 
the  world,  which  archaeology  traces  back  beyond 
3000  years  B.  c.  The  home  of  a  race  skilled  both 
in  the  fine  and  mechanical  arts ;  loving  nature,  hon- 
oring women,  and  deeply  impressed  with  the  seri- 
ousness of  life  on  both  sides  the  grave.  The 
valley  of  the  Nile,  which  is  the  true  Egypt,  is  unlike 
any  other  part  of  the  world.  It  has  neither  Alpine 
grandeur,  nor  pastoral  softness,  nor  variety  of  plain 
and  upland,  meadow  and  forest.  Its  low  hills  have 
neither  heather  nor  pine  upon  them.  Egypt  is  the 
land  of  light,  of  glowing  sunshine,  of  moonlight 
and  starlight  so  brilliant  that  night  is  but  a  softer 
day.  From  the  time  that  Israel's  ancestors  went 
down  thither  it  has  drawn  men  of  every  clime  with 
a  peculiar  fascination. 

On  the  opposite  page  we  have  before  us  a  glimpse 
of  the  majestic  Nile,  stretching  through  one  thou- 
sand miles  of  desert  till  it  flows  into  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea.  "Wherever  the  river  cometh,  there  is 
life."  Everywhere  along  its  banks  the  desert  has 
become  fertile,  and  there  are  countless  towns  and 
villages. 

at 


EGYPT,  THE  LAND  OF  BONDAGE   25 

The  productive  capacity  of  the  land  had  always 
depended  upon  the  annual  overflow  of  the  Nile,  but 
every  summer  during  the  season  of  high  Nile  billions 
and  billions  of  cubic  feet  of  water  would  roll  away  a 
rich  and  wanton  waste  into  the  sea,  simply  because 
there  were  not  enough  channels  to  carry  it  out  into 
the  thirsty  sands  of  the  desert.  Energetic  men  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  bringing  these  waste  waters  into 
control,  to  carry  them  out  through  the  surrounding 
countries,  bringing  life  and  prosperity  where  there 
was  dearth  and  desolation.  For  this  purpose  sev- 
eral great  dams  were  built;  one  at  Cairo,  one  at 
Assiut  and  one  at  Assouan,  making  it  possible  to 
store  up  much  of  the  water  which  had  formerly 
gone  to  waste,  and  canals  were  dug  to  carry  the  life- 
giving  water  out  to  the  desert  where  thousands  of 
acres  of  land  have  been  reclaimed. 

The  large  cities  of  Egypt  are  densely  populated. 
A  town  of  twenty-five  thousand  people  is  considered 
a  mere  village.  It  might  be  wondered  what  the  peo- 
ple do  for  a  livelihood,  but  they  all  seem  to  do  some- 
thing. There  are  all  sorts  of  tradesmen  and  artifi- 
cers. It  is  next  to  impossible  to  enumerate  them, 
there's  the : — 

Richman,  poorman,  beggarman,  thief; 
Doctor,  lawyer,  merchant,  chief, 
Butcher,  baker, 
Candle-stick  maker, 
Soldier,  sailor, 
Tinker,  tailor,  etc.,  etc. 


26  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

There  are  few  signs  of  extreme  want,  but  disease 
and  deformity  meet  one  everywhere,  and  blindness 
is  perhaps  the  most  pitiful. 

Egypt  is  largely  an  agricultural  country,  and 
naturally  the  largest  percentage  of  her  inhabitants 
are  tillers  of  the  soil.  A  little  more  than  half  be- 
long to  the  peasant  class  and  are  known  as  "fella- 
heen." They  are  industrious  after  their  own 
fashion,  conservative  to  the  point  of  bigotry,  yet 
good-humored  and  peaceable.  The  peasant  class 
are  the  hope  of  Egypt.  They  look  back  to  a  past 
full  of  crushing  tyranny,  political  and  religious,  but 
under  the  improved  political  condition  of  the  coun- 
try the  Egyptian  peasant  is  beginning  to  widen  his 
horizon  and  to  aim  for  education  and  civilization. 
Poor  they  certainly  are,  but  what  of  that  when 
they  have  enough  to  eat  such  as  it  is  and  can  spend 
their  whole  lives  in  sunshine  and  fresh  air  ?  Warm 
enough  with  the  lightest  clothing,  well  sheltered  by 
the  rudest  cabin,  no  hard  winters  to  provide  against, 
and  no  coal  to  buy. 

Such  is  the  physical  condition  of  Egypt  and  the 
Egyptian.  What  of  the  moral  and  spiritual? 

Nine-tenths  of  the  people  are  Mohammedans, 
thus  Mohammedan  ideas  rule  the  thought  and  man- 
ner of  life. 

Because  Mohammedans  worship  one  God,  many 
people  say,  "Let  them  alone,  their  religion  is  good 
enough  for  them,  it  is  even  better  suited  to  them 
than  Christianity."  It  is  true  that  Mohammedan- 


EGYPT,  THE  LAND  OF  BONDAGE   27 

ism  was  a  revolt  against  the  idolatry  and  corruption 
of  the  early  Christian  churches,  but  is  that  revolt, 
even  though  an  honest  effort  to  find  a  purer  form 
of  worship,  any  excuse  for  not  holding  out  to  them 
the  true  way  of  salvation?  Is  not  that  revolt 
rather  a  trumpet  call  to  Christianity,  wakening  her 
up  to  her  great  responsibility  toward  the  unbelief 
of  Islam,  whose  apostasy  was  caused  by  the  unfaith- 
fulness of  the  old  Christian  churches  of  the 
East? 

No  one  who  has  drunk  deeply  at  the  fountain  of 
evangelical  truth  can  defend  Islam.  It  has  been 
commonly  supposed  that  the  God  of  the  Koran  is 
the  God  of  the  New  Testament.  Those  who  have 
made  the  subject  a  matter  of  careful  study  and  in- 
vestigation find  that  they  are  totally  different.  The 
God  of  Christianity  is  a  God  of  love,  the  God  of 
Islam  is  an  Oriental  despot. 

The  element  of  love  is  left  out  of  both  the  religion 
and  morality  of  Islam.  Marriage  is  not  founded 
upon  love  but  upon  sensuality.  A  mother  was  re- 
buked for  arranging  a  marriage  for  her  fourteen- 
year-old  son.  Her  excuse  was,  "I  do  it  to  keep  him 
from  learning  the  bad  habit  of  visiting  prostitutes." 
The  sensual  nature  has  been  trained  in  the  Egyptian 
to  an  indescribable  degree  of  disgusting  perfection. 
As  some  one  has  said,  "Mohammedans  have  added 
a  refinement  of  sensuousness  to  pagan  sensuality." 
As  a  result  of  this  training  men  and  women  have 
sunk  to  depths  of  degradation  unconsciously  mani- 


28  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

fested  in  their  customs,  in  their  speech,  and  in  their 
life. 

For  twelve  centuries  the  blight  of  Islam  has  fallen 
over  the  fortunes  of  Egypt.  Politics,  commerce, 
learning,  all  have  felt  its  withering  blast,  but  that 
which  has  most  keenly  felt  the  blast  and  blight  of 
Islam  is  society.  There  is  no  word  in  the  Arabic 

|  language  for  home,  the  nearest  approach  to  it  being 
"beit,"  which  means  "house"  or  "a  place  in  which 
to  spend  the  night."  To  quote  from  an  interesting 

.writer  on  this  thought — "The  word  is  lacking  be- 

icause  the  idea  is  lacking."  "Home,  sweet  Home" 
with  all  its  wealth  of  meaning  is  a  conception  for- 
eign to  the  average  Oriental.  An  educated  young 
Moslem  with  advanced  ideas  in  many  respects  was 
asked  if  the  members  of  his  family  took  their  meals 
together.  He  said  they  did  not,  each  one  when  he 
became  hungry  told  the  servant  to  bring  food. 
"Would  it  not  be  better  to  eat  together?"  "Yes,  it 
would  be  much  cheaper,"  he  replied,  showing  that 
the  first  ray  of  the  beauty  of  the  home  circle  had  not 
penetrated  his  active  mind.  How  can  it  be  other- 
wise when  woman,  the  heart  and  life  of  the  family 
circle,  was  in  his  mind  because  of  inherited  ideas 
relegated  to  the  position  of  prisoner  and  slave  rather 
than  to  that  of  companion  and  helpmeet?  "It  was 
Islam  that  forever  withdrew  from  Oriental  society 

'  the  bright,  refining,  elevating  influence  of  woman  by 
burying  her  alive  behind  the  veil  and  lattice  of  the 
Harem." 


EGYPT,  THE  LAND  OF  BONDAGE   29 

Arabic  poetry  and  literature  is  generally  very 
uncomplimentary  to  woman,  characterizing  her  as  a 
donkey,  or  even  a  snake.  The  majority  of  the  men 
hoot  at  the  gallantry  and  courtesy  which  Anglo-Sax- 
on etiquette  demands  of  men  towards  women.  Says  » 
an  Egyptian,  "Our  women  must  be  beaten  in  order  I 
to  be  made  to  walk  straight."  And  beaten  they  are 
for  trifling  offence  by  father,  husband,  brother,  or 
son  as  occasion  demands.  This  custom  is  so  com- 
mon that  the  women  themselves  expect  a  whipping 
occasionally. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  theology  of  Islam  does 
not  give  woman  a  place  in  heaven,  but  that  state- 
ment is  incorrect.  However,  her  place  and  station 
in  heaven  seem  to  depend  entirely  upon  the  will  of 
her  husband.  Many  husbands  are  like  the  old  Mos- 
lem sheikh  who  said,  "I  don't  want  my  wives  in 
heaven.  I  prefer  the  Harem  of  beautiful,  pure, 
clean  angels  which  God  has  provided  for  every  good 
Moslem."  The  privilege  of  prayer  is  practically 
denied  a  young  woman  with  children  because  of  the 
strict  regulations  of  washing  before  prayer.  Unless 
these  ablutions  are  done  carefully  according  to  rule, 
prayer  is  void.  A  few  old  women  do  pray. 

The  nominal  Christians  dwelling  in  the  midst  of 
Islam,  though  they  hate  Islam  with  all  their  hearts, 
have  yet  imbibed  much  of  their  spirit  in  regard  to 
the  treatment  of  women.  A  Coptic  priest  was 
heard  to  say,  "It  is  better  for  the  women  not  to  go 
to  church,  for  they  can't  keep  quiet.  They  will  eat 


30  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

and  chatter  during  the  service."  Poor  things! 
What  else  could  they  do,  shut  off  from  the  main 
audience  room  as  they  always  are  behind  a  high 
lattice  screen,  where  they  can  neither  see  nor  hear 
what  is  going  on ! 

Much  can  be  said  about  the  down-trodden  condi- 
tion of  Egyptian  women.  "As  a  babe  she  is  unwel- 
come; as  a  child  untaught;  as  a  wife  unloved;  as 
a  mother,  unhonored;  in  old  age,  uncared  for;  and 
when  her  miserable,  dark,  and  dreary  life  is  ended, 
she  is  unmourned  by  those  she  has  served."  Heaven 
is  a  forlorn  hope,  not  because  she  is  denied  any  of  its 
privileges,  but  because  of  the  incapability  of  pro- 
viding her  with  enjoyments  similar  to  those  prom- 
ised to  the  other  sex. 

It  has  often  been  asserted  that  the  institutions  of 
Islam  elevated  and  improved  the  state  of  women, 
but  history  and  true  incidents  from  life  go  to  show 
that  her  position  was  rendered  by  Islam  more  de- 
pendent and  degraded  than  before. 

She  is  degraded  and  made  servilely  dependent  by 
seclusion.  The  veil  and  lattice  of  the  Harem  are 
both  Islamic  institutions  established  by  the  Prophet 
of  Islam  and  founded  upon  incidents  which  occurred 
in  his  own  family;  and  they  are  certainly  a  faithful 
commentary  upon  the  sensuality  and  lewdness  of 
the  times,  with  an  unconscious  recognition  of  the 
fact  that  the  religion  of  Islam  was  not  of  sufficient 
moral  force  to  improve  the  times.  History  has 
verified  this  testimony  and  we  only  need  to  look 


EGYPT,  THE  LAND  OF  BONDAGE   3' 

around  in  these  countries  to  see  for  ourselves  that 
Mohammedanism,  as  its  founder  anticipated,  has 
not  improved  the  morality  of  those  who  have  em- 
braced its  principles,  but  has  rather  excused  and 
given  license  to  all  sorts  of  lewdness.  It  is  difficult 
for  people  reared  in  Christian  lands  to  have  any  con- 
ception of  the  laxity  of  morals  in  Mohammedan 
lands  and  it  is  a  thing  to  be  wondered  at  and  ex- 
cused only  on  the  grounds  of  ignorance  of  existing 
conditions  that  English  parents  will  allow  their 
young  daughters  to  become  resident  teachers  or 
governesses  in  rich  Mohammedan  houses. 

The  whole  system  of  Islam,  in  so  far  as  it  con- 
cerns family  life  and  the  treatment  of  women,  is 
vile  and  revolting.  The  veil  and  lattice  of  the 
Harem,  even  though  established  to  guard  her  mod- 
esty and  purity,  have  degraded  and  debased  her  by 
making  her  a  prisoner. 

As  a  child,  she  has  before  her  only  a  few  short 
years  in  which  she  has  an  opportunity  to  go  to 
school  and  the  effort  to  improve  those  few  years  is 
very  often  fruitless,  because  just  as  she  shows  any 
signs  of  budding  womanhood  (as  early  as  at  the 
age  of  ten  years  and  not  later  than  thirteen  years) 
she  must  lay  aside  her  books  and  "be  hidden,"  as 
they  say  in  Arabic;  then  it  is  considered  im- 
proper and  immodest  for  a  girl  to  be  seen  in  the 
streets.  Her  education  stops  just  at  the  point  when 
her  mind  is  beginning  to  open  up,  and  she  is  learn- 
ing to  love  her  books.  Thrown  back  into  the  seclu- 


32  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

sion  of  the  Harem  she  soon  forgets  all  she  has 
learned.  Should  she  be  energetic  enough  to  try  to 
keep  up  her  lessons  and  try  to  get  reading  matter, 
she  is  met  with  the  taunt,  "Are  you  a  scribe  or  a 
lawyer,  that  you  should  read  and  write  every  day  ?" 

The  girls  who  have  an  opportunity  of  going  to 
school  at  all  are  in  the  minority,  but  for  those  who 
do,  as  in  Christian  lands,  there  is  a  peculiar  fascina- 
tion and  joy  connected  with  the  first  day  of  school 
after  a  month  or  two  of  vacation.  Girls,  new  pupils 
and  old,  come  trooping  into  the  schoolroom  enthu- 
siastic, eager,  and  bright,  rejoicing  with  all  the 
ardor  of  childhood  that  they  are  allowed  to  come 
back  to  their  beloved  school  and  that  they  are  not 
yet  old  enough  to  be  "hidden."  But  there  is  a  strain 
of  sadness  in  all  this  joy,  for  in  their  interchange  of 
confidences  and  family  bits  of  news  it  comes  out 
that  a  certain  Fatima  and  a  certain  Zeinab,  their  big 
sisters,  are  sitting  at  home  very  sad  and  even  shed- 
ding bitter  and  rebellious  tears  because,  poor  things ! 
they  have  been  "hidden"  and  their  schooldays  are 
over. 

A  day  or  two  after  our  school  began,  the  teachers 
and  girls  were  all  startled  by  a  rustle  of  long  gar- 
ments sailing  in  at  the  door.  On  closer  observation 
they  soon  saw  that  their  visitor  was  none  other  than 
little  Habeeba  of  last  year,  who  during  the  summer 
had  blossomed  out  into  a  woman  by  donning  all  the 
trappings  of  a  Harem  lady,  and  she  was  truly  "hid- 
den," for  not  a  speck  of  her  face  showed  except  one 


EGYPT,  THE  LAND  OF  BONDAGE   33 

bright  eye.  She  could  not  stay  away  from  her 
beloved  school,  she  said,  so  had  begged  special  per- 
mission to  come  and  spend  an  hour  with  her  friends. 

The  seclusion  of  the  Harem  is  more  or  less  rigid 
according  to  the  caprice  of  some  exacting  husband 
or  mother-in-law.  As  far  as  the  younger  married 
women's  experience  goes  it  is  mother-in-law  rule 
literally,  for  seldom  is  a  man  permitted  to  take  his 
wife  to  a  home  of  his  own.  The  sons  and  even  the 
grandsons  must  bring  their  brides  home  to  the 
father's  house  and  all  be  subject  to  the  mother.  A 
household  of  fifty  is  no  uncommon  thing.  Much  of 
the  freedom  of  the  younger  women  depends  upon 
what  the  old  mother-in-law  or  grandmother-in-law 
thinks  proper.  Often  she  rules  with  a  hand  of  iron, 
probably  to  make  up  for  her  own  hard  life  in  her 
younger  days,  intermixed  with  an  honest  desire  to 
preserve  and  promote  the  honor  and  dignity  of  her 
house.  For  the  honor,  dignity,  and  aristocracy  of  a 
family  are  often  estimated  according  to  the  rigor  of 
the  seclusion  of  its  women-folk. 

Thousands  of  Egyptian  women  never  step  over 
their  own  thresholds  and  many  of  them  never  make 
complaint,  only  saying,  "Oh,  you  know  our  men  love 
us  very  much;  that  is  the  reason  they  imprison  us. 
They  do  it  to  protect  us." 

Among  the  strictest  people  a  young  woman  is  not 
permitted  to  be  seen  by  even  her  father-in-law. 
Nor  is  it  allowable  for  her  to  be  seen  by  any  male 
servants  except  eunuchs.  Under  such  conditions  it 


34  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

might  be  wondered  how  a  woman  could  keep  her 
domestic  machinery  in  running  order,  but  as  one 
woman  said,  who  had  never  seen  the  face  of  her 
cook  although  he  had  been  employed  in  her  house 
for  thirteen  years,  when  asked  the  question,  "How 
do  you  tell  him  what  you  want  for  dinner?"  "Oh, 
he  knows  my  wants,  but  when  I  wish  to  give  a  par- 
ticular order,  I  tell  the  maid  servant,  she  tells  the 
little  boy  servant,  and  he  conveys  the  message  to  the 
cook!" 

It  seems  like  the  irony  of  fate  that  these  women 
who  are  kept  in  such  strict  seclusion  should  be  so  ex- 
travagantly fond  of  society.  They  welcome  in  the 
most  hospitable  manner  any  visitors  of  their  own  sex. 
It  is  pitiful  to  see  how  they  love  to  have  glimpses  of 
the  outside  world.  A  missionary  lady  tells  of  a 
woman  whom  she  often  visited,  who  had  never  been 
outside  of  her  house  since  her  marriage,  forty  years 
before,  and  who  begged  her  to  tell  her  something 
about  the  flowers,  saying,  "Ah,  you  are  happy 
women,  free  to  go  here  and  there  and  enjoy  life!" 

Many  people  who  know  only  the  outside  of  Egyp- 
tian life,  when  they  hear  that  the  women  have 
jewelry  and  beautiful  dresses  and  servants  to  look 
after  every  want,  say  they  are  happy  and  contented 
in  their  seclusion,  but  those  who  visit  them  in  their 
homes  and  talk  with  them  in  their  own  language 
know  how  they  writhe  under  it,  how  they  weary  of 
the  idleness  and  monotony  forced  upon  them.  One 
little  woman,  forced  to  spend  her  life  behind  closed 


EGYPT,  THE  LAND  OF  BONDAGE   35 

shutters,  would  feign  illness  so  as  to  get  an  oppor- 
tunity to  call  in  her  friend,  the  lady  missionary 
doctor,  and,  when  rebuked,  would  laughingly  say, 
"What  am  I  to  do!  I  must  see  somebody  to  pass 
away  the  time  and  I  like  to  have  you  come  to  see 
me,  but  you  won't  come  unless  I  send  you  word  I  am 
ill." 

It  seems  part  of  the  nature  of  the  Egyptian  to 
distrust  his  womenfolk  and  to  believe  them  capable 
of  any  misdemeanor.  Therefore  they  must  be  care- 
fully watched  and  kept  in  check.  This  distrust  re- 
acts upon  the  nature  and  character  of  the  women, 
often  making  them  truly  unworthy  of  trust,  but 
many  of  them  are  very  sensitive  on  the  subject  and 
feel  keenly  this  unfair  position  into  which  they  are 
thrown. 

What  has  been  said  about  the  strict  seclusion  of 
Egyptian  women  refers  chiefly  to  the  middle  and 
upper  classes,  for  the  poorest  women,  those  of  the 
peasant  class,  have  the  greatest  freedom.  They  go 
about  unveiled  and  manifest  a  character  of  marked 
independence  and  self-reliance,  but  they  are  ignorant 
beyond  description,  such  a  thing  as  books  and 
schoolroom  being  unknown  quantities  to  them,  and 
their  lot  is  a  life  of  drudgery. 

Many  of  the  village  women  labor  in  the  fields 
from  early  morning  to  late  at  night,  especially  dur- 
ing the  cotton  season,  seven  or  eight  months  of  the 
year. 

During  the  cotton-ginning  season  many  women 


36  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

and  girls  work  from  4  o'clock  A.M.  to  9  o'clock  P.M. 
in  the  cotton-ginning  mills.  Those  in  the  vicinities 
of  larger  towns  are  vendors  of  fruit,  vegetables, 
milk,  cheese,  and  butter.  On  market  days  great 
troops  of  village  women  can  be  seen  on  the  country 
roads,  their  wares  in  big  baskets  on  their  heads, 
their  babies  perched  astride  their  shoulders,  wend- 
ing their  way  to  town.  Those  who  live  in  the  larger 
towns  are  often  employed  as  hodcarriers  for  masons. 

Their  powers  of  endurance  are  marvellous.  It  is 
a  common  occurrence  for  a  woman  to  go  out  to  pick 
cotton  as  usual  in  the  morning  and  to  come  back  in 
the  evening,  carrying  her  basket  on  her  head  and 
in  it  her  new-born  babe,  and  it  has  been  known  for 
a  woman  to  start  to  town  with  her  marketing  on 
her  head,  be  detained  an  hour  or  two  by  the  road- 
side till  she  gives  birth  to  her  child,  then  with  it 
continue  her  journey. 

Besides  being  a  drudge  the  peasant  woman  is 
nearly  always  a  slave  to  her  husband.  Of  course 
she  does  not  eat  with  him;  if  she  goes  out  with 
him  she  walks  behind  him  while  he  rides  the  donkey, 
which  it  is  her  duty  to  keep  moving  at  a  good 
pace  by  prodding  with  a  sharp  stick.  If  there  is 
anything  to  carry  she  does  it.  He  does  manage  to 
carry  his  own  cigarette  and  walking  stick!  Often, 
too,  she  has  to  exercise  her  wits  to  tell  her  lord 
amusing  stories  for  his  entertainment  as  they  jour- 
ney by  the  way.  One  day  some  tourists  met  just 
such  a  couple  on  a  country  road.  The  poor  woman 


EGYPT,  THE  LAND  OF  BONDAGE   37 

was  trudging  along  with  a  big  child  sitting  astride 
her  shoulder  while  its  father  rode  the  donkey.  The 
suggestion  was  made  that  the  child  might  ride  if 
its  mother  couldn't.  To  the  credit  of  the  smiling- 
faced  peasant  the  suggestion  was  followed. 


Ill 

FROM   UNDER  THE  YOKE   OF  SOCIAL  EVILS 

UNHAPPY  marriages  are  a  natural  result  of  the 
seclusion  of  women  in  Egypt.  It  would  be  highly 
improper  for  a  man  to  see  his  bride  until  after  he 
had  married  her.  He  has  not  even  had  the  privilege 
of  choosing  her.  His  mother  did  that  for  him,  and 
it  goes  without  saying  that  the  young  man  is  not 
always  suited.  The  story  is  told  of  a  young  man 
who  at  his  wedding  feast  was  sitting  so  glum  and 
silent  that  his  young  friends  teased  him  by  saying, 
"Brother!  brother!  Why  so  sad  on  this  joyous  oc- 
casion?" In  answer  he  said,  "I  have  just  seen  my 
bride  for  the  first  time  and  I  am  woefully  disap- 
pointed. She  is  ugly!  tall,  thin,  and  weak-eyed." 
The  tall  "daughter-of-the-gods-girl"  is  not  admired 
in  Egypt.  Her  short,  fat,  dumpy  little  sister  is 
much  more  according  to  Egyptian  ideas  of  beauty. 
"Cheer  up !  cheer  up !"  said  his  friends,  "you  are  not 
such  a  handsome  fellow  yourself  that  you  should 
have  such  a  handsome  wife!"  Shaking  his  head 
sadly,  he  said,  "I  feel  like  heaping  ashes  on  my  head. 
If  you  don't  believe  me  that  she  is  ugly,  go  up- 
stairs and  peep  in  at  the  Harem  window  and  see  for 
yourselves."  Glad  of  the  chance  of  such  a  privilege, 

38 


THE  YOKE  OF  SOCIAL  EVILS          39 

they  did  so  and  came  back  saying,  "Brother,  heap 
more  ashes  on  your  head !" 

Frequent  divorce  is  a  natural  result  of  these  un- 
happy marriages.  Divorce  in  any  land  is  a  social 
evil  but  in  Egypt  it  is  especially  so,  because  the 
divorce  laws  are  such  that  in  a  peculiar  way  woman 
is  degraded  by  them. 

It  is  difficult  to  obtain  exact  figures  regarding  the 
percentage  of  divorce,  as  all  cases  are  not  recorded. 
There  are  some  who  say  50  per  cent,  of  marriages 
end  in  divorce,  others  say  80  per  cent.,  and  a  promi- 
nent Moslem  when  asked  said  95  per  cent.  An 
experienced  missionary  when  asked  her  opinion, 
said,  "Divorce  is  so  common  that  to  find  a  woman 
who  lives  all  her  life  with  one  husband  is  the  ex- 
ception." 

In  fact  it  is  such  an  exception  that  it  is  a  subject 
for  remark,  and  a  visitor  in  a  house  where  such 
happy  conditions  exist  never  fails  to  be  told  about  it. 

Many  women  have  been  divorced  several  times, 
and  a  woman  of  twenty  years  of  age  may  be  living 
with  her  third  husband. 

A  native  Bible  woman  who  had  worked  among 
Mohammedans  for  fourteen  years  when  asked, 
"How  many  men  or  women  of  twenty-five  years  of 
age  she  thought  likely  to  be  living  with  their  original 
partners?"  said,  "Do  you  mean  that  they  should 
have  kept  to  each  other  and  that  neither  has  been 
divorced  or  married  anybody  else?" — "Yes."  She 
laughed  and  said,  "Perhaps  one  in  two  thousand." 


40  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

This  was  probably  an  exaggeration,  but  it  shows 
that  divorce  is  very  common,  and  that  the  percentage 
is  even  higher  than  those  who  love  Egypt  and  her 
people  like  to  admit.  It  almost  seems  that  the  his- 
tory of  one's  Mohammedan  acquaintances  in  Egypt 
might  be  given  in  an  endless  stream  of  incidents 
about  divorce  and  the  intrigue  and  hate  and  jealousy 
attendant  on  this,  the  greatest  social  evil  of  Egypt. 

Many  a  young  man  has  no  hesitation  about  marry- 
ing and  divorcing,  keeping  up  the  process  for  a  year 
or  so  till  he  at  last  finds  a  wife  to  suit  him.  If  it 
didn't  degrade  those  he  has  cast  aside,  he  might  be 
excused  for  doing  so,  as  he  has  had  no  chance  to 
choose  his  wife  intelligently. 

A  young  man  of  some  spirit  was  determined  to 
have  a  wife  to  please  him  and  who  would  be  con- 
genial to  him.  Seeing  no  other  way  to  accomplish 
it,  he  married  and  divorced  in  rapid  succession  six 
times.  The  seventh  was  a  queenly  young  woman, 
gentle  and  refined  in  all  her  ways,  in  whom  the 
heart  of  her  husband  might  well  rejoice,  yet  the 
terror  daily  hung  over  her  that  she  might  be  divorced 
in  time  like  the  other  six.  It  was  pathetic  to  see 
how  she  tried  to  cultivate  every  little  feminine  art 
to  please  her  husband,  how  she  tried  to  improve  her 
mind  so  as  to  be  a  companion  to  him,  but  constantly 
with  the  fear  of  divorce  lurking  in  her  tender  and 
loving  heart. 

Among  the  lower  classes  marrying  and  divorcing 
in  rapid  succession  is  a  form  of  dissipation.  When 


THE  YOKE  OF  SOCIAL  EVILS  41 

pay-day  comes,  instead  of  going  off  on  a  big  drink 
(which,  to  the  credit  of  Islam,  is  forbidden),  they 
use  their  money  to  defray  the  expenses  of  a  season 
of  debauchery,  marrying  and  divorcing  as  many 
wives  as  possible  while  the  money  lasts.  Picture  the 
degradation  of  the  poor  women  who  are  the  victims 
(often  unwilling  victims)  of  such  orgies. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  bring  in  here  everything 
that  Mohammedan  law  says  about  divorce,  but  the 
rules  are  many  and  complicated  and  almost  too  re- 
volting to  put  into  words.  It  is  enough  to  say 
that  the  husband  may  divorce  his  wife  without  any 
misbehavior  on  her  part  or  without  assigning  any 
reason.  It  is  all  left  to  the  will  and  caprice  of  the 
man,  and  he  has  only  to  say,  "Woman,  thou  art 
divorced,"  or  he  can  even  use  metaphorical  language 
which  must  be  understood  by  the  ever-on-the-alert 
wife  to  mean  divorce,  as  when  he  says,  "Thou  art 
free!"  "Thou  art  cut  off!"  "Veil  yourself!" 
"Arise,  seek  for  a  mate !"  etc.,  etc.  A  certain  man 
had  been  away  for  a  week  or  so  on  a  business  trip. 
He  came  home  and  the  first  words  he  said  to  his 
wife,  were,  "I  thought  you  had  gone  home  to  your 
father's  house !"  She  understood  him  to  mean,  and 
rightly  too,  "I  divorce  thee !"  so  she  packed  up  her 
things  and  went  off. 

If  a  man  pronounce  his  sentence  of  divorce  only 
once  or  twice  it  is  revocable,  but  if  he  pronounces  it 
three  times  it  is  irrevocable,  and  the  divorced  wife 
cannot  be  taken  back  by  her  husband  till  she  has  been 


42  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

married  to  another  man,  has  lived  with  him  and  been 
divorced;  then  her  former  husband  can  take  her 
back.  This  is  the  most  revolting  and  degrading 
of  all  the  divorce  laws,  and  the  prophet  Mohammed 
instituted  it  thinking  that  the  very  repulsiveness  of 
it  would  act  as  a  restraint,  but  strange  to  say  it  only 
seems  to  give  more  license. 

A  man  will  get  into  controversy  with  his  friends 
perhaps.  To  strengthen  his  statements  he  uses  all 
sorts  of  oaths,  the  strongest  of  which  is,  "I  divorce 
my  wife  by  the  triple  divorce."  It  takes  legal  effect. 
The  poor  man  is  in  great  distress,  for  he  really  loves 
his  wife.  What  is  he  to  do?  He  must  go  through 
the  process  of  law  to  get  her  back.  He  hires  a  ser- 
vant or  a  strange  peasant  to  marry  her.  The  revolt- 
ing part  is  that  the  poor  woman  has  to  live  with 
this  hired  husband  till  he  is  again  hired  to  divorce 
her,  when  she  is  free  to  go  back  to  her  former  hus- 
band. This  case  actually  happened,  and  many  like 
it  with  varying  circumstances  might  be  related,  al- 
though it  can  gladly  be  said  that  the  irrevocable 
divorce  is  not  of  such  frequent  occurrence  as  the 
revocable. 

Some  incidents  will  illustrate  the  various  circum- 
stances which  cause  divorce  or  are  excuses  for  it. 

Abraham,  the  carpenter,  came  to  his  employer 
one  day  asking  for  an  advance  of  wages.  "Why?" 
was  asked.  "I  am  going  to  get  married,"  he  said, 
"and  it  costs  much  money."  Then  he  proceeded  to 
relate  his  domestic  troubles,  how  he  had  lived  with 


THE  YOKE  OF  SOCIAL  EVILS          43 

his  one  wife  sixteen  years,  explaining  that  he  de- 
served much  credit  for  doing  so,  seeing  that  his 
father  during  his  lifetime  had  indulged  in  thirty-nine 
wives,  but  that  he  had  come  to  the  point  where  he 
must  divorce  this  wife  as  she  really  did  talk  too 
much,  so  of  course  he  would  have  to  marry  another. 

A  happy  young  mother  had  one  little  son  whom 
she  loved  dearly.  He  was  accidentally  burned  to 
death.  The  poor  grief-stricken  mother  mourned 
and  wept  so  much  and  so  long  that  she  became  nearly 
blind.  Because  she  had  no  more  children,  her  hus- 
band divorced  her.  In  time  she  talked  of  marrying 
again.  The  missionary  who  had  visited  her  often 
and  comforted  her  in  her  sorrow,  remonstrated  on 
the  grounds  of  her  former  experience.  She  an- 
swered by  saying,  "A  divorced  woman  must  either 
marry  again  or  else  live  a  life  of  sin." 

A  poor  little  child- wife  received  such  injuries  at 
the  birth  of  her  first  child  because  of  the  ignorance 
of  those  who  attended  her  at  the  time  that  she  be- 
came an  invalid,  consequently  her  husband  divorced 
her.  She  heard  of  the  Mission  Hospital,  where  she 
might  receive  kindly  treatment.  She  was  admitted 
and  cured  by  an  operation.  Her  husband  then  re- 
stored her  to  his  loving  heart  and  home. 

In  a  certain  town  there  was  a  little  family  where 
there  seemed  to  be  plenty  of  conjugal  happiness  in 
spite  of  so  much  that  is  often  said  about  the  im- 
possibility of  such  a  thing  in  a  Moslem  family.  The 
little  wife  was  beautiful,  bright,  and  intelligent,  be- 


44  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

ing  fairly  well  educated,  and  was  able  to  make  her 
house  into  something  like  a  real  home.  They  were 
blessed  with  a  family  of  interesting  and  promising 
children.  The  father  was  wont  to  boast  that  he  a 
Mohammedan  could  verify  the  fact  that  such  a  thing 
as  a  perfect  home  could  exist  under  Islamic  condi- 
tions. But  temptation  came  his  way.  He  divorced 
his  beautiful  unoffending  wife  to  marry  the  tempt- 
ress, who  though  rich  and  of  a  high  family  (which 
was  her  recommendation  and  considered  sufficient 
excuse  for  his  base  action),  was  ignorant  and  ugly, 
the  only  thing  which  seemed  to  give  him  any  pangs 
of  regret. 

There  was  a  man  who  was  fairly  well-to-do  and 
was  considered  by  his  neighbors  as  being  very  re- 
spectable. The  first  wife  was  a  very  nice  woman 
but  had  no  son,  so  her  husband  divorced  her  and 
married  a  second.  Still  there  was  no  son,  so  he 
married  a  third.  It  was  believed  he  did  not  really 
divorce  the  second  wife,  but  pretended  to  do  so  to 
please  the  third,  who  would  not  consent  to  being  one 
of  two  wives.  After  a  while  a  son  was  born  to  the 
third,  and  so  his  first  wife  was  brought  back  to  the 
house  as  nurse  to  the  child.  She  was  the  most  lady- 
like of  the  three  wives,  but  she  had  to  carry  the  baby 
and  walk  behind  the  mother  like  a  servant.  When 
the  baby  died  the  parents  quarrelled.  Number  three 
left  the  house  and  went  into  the  country.  The  hus- 
band at  once  brought  back  number  two,  whereupon 
number  three  returned  in  a  rage  and  number  two 


THE  YOKE  OF  SOCIAL  EVILS  45 

was  turned  out  of  the  house.  On  the  next  quarrel 
with  number  three  the  man  married  a  fourth  time — 
a  girl  younger  than  his  daughter  by  his  first  wife. 
About  this  time  he  met  the  Bible  woman  in  the  street 
and  asked  her  why  she  did  not  visit  his  house  as 
usual.  She  replied,  "I  do  not  come  because  I  never 
know  which  lady  to  ask  for." 

The  house  of  AH  might  be  supposed  to  be  rather 
a  religious  one,  for  the  mother  of  the  family  has 
performed  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca  and  one  of  the 
sons  is  a  howling  dervish.  Here  we  were  intro- 
duced to  a  young  bride,  wife  of  a  brother  of  the 
dervish.  Calling  again  a  few  months  later  we  found 
another  bride,  the  one  we  had  seen  on  our  former 
visit  having  been  divorced.  The  third  time  we  went 
the  first  wife  was  there  again  and  the  second  had 
been  divorced.  The  woman  had  been  married  to 
another  man  and  divorced  by  him  during  the  short 
time  of  separation  from  the  first  husband,  and  when 
the  latter  wished  to  have  her  back  her  parents  could 
not  agree  about  allowing  the  marriage  and  quarrelled 
so  much  that  they  divorced  each  other!  The  time 
occupied  by  these  proceedings  was  between  a  year 
and  eighteen  months.  Here  were  six  persons  con- 
cerned, and  four  marriages  and  four  divorces  had 
taken  place.  A  baby  had  arrived  on  the  scene,  but 
its  parentage  was  a  mystery  in  the  mix-up. 

It  is  quite  usual  for  a  woman  to  be  divorced  be- 
fore the  birth  of  her  first  child,  and  we  could  not  but 
feel  sympathy  with  the  poor  young  mother  who 


46  OUR    MOSLEM   SISTERS 

under  such  circumstances  called  her  baby  "Venge- 
ance." 

Love,  the  best  and  most  holy  of  human  joys,  has 
been  almost  strangled  to  death  in  Egypt  by  the  in- 
stitution of  divorce,  and  the  family  can  seldom  be 
considered  a  community  of  common  interest.  As 
one  woman  was  heard  to  say,  "We  go  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  trying  to  pluck  or  fleece  our  husbands  all 
we  can  while  we  have  the  chance,  since  we  never 
know  how  soon  we  may  be  divorced." 

It  has  been  said  that  the  character  of  a  nation 
cannot  rise  above  the  character  of  its  women.  What 
can  be  expected  of  a  nation  when  hate  and  jeal- 
ousy are  the  ruling  passions  of  its  women,  of  its 
mothers  who  nurture  and  train  up  its  young ! 

The  question  has  been  asked  what  is  the  condi- 
tion of  the  children  of  divorced  parents.  Accord- 
ing to  the  law  the  mother  is  given  an  allowance  by 
her  former  husband  on  which  to  bring  up  their 
children  to  a  certain  age;  then  they  are  his.  If  they 
are  girls  they  often  are  allowed  to  become  servants 
to  the  mother's  successor,  although  there  are  fathers 
who  do  have  enough  natural  affection  to  give  the 
daughters  of  a  former  wife  the  proper  place  in  the 
house.  The  allowance  given  a  divorced  woman 
when  she  has  children  is  most  often  a  mere  pittance 
and  too  often  she  never  gets  one  at  all.  She  mar- 
ries again  and  the  children  live  with  grandparents 
or  other  near  relations  or  even  alternate  between  the 
houses  of  the  remarried  father  and  mother,  thus  be- 


THE  YOKE  OF  SOCIAL  EVILS          47 

coming  mere  little  street  waifs  who  have  no  definite 
abiding  place.  They  certainly  do  suffer  from  neg- 
lect, but  seldom  are  they  victims  of  deliberate  cruelty, 
although  such  cases  are  not  unheard  of. 

The  distressing  screams  of  a  child  once  attracted 
the  attention  of  a  family;  on  investigation  it  was 
discovered  that  the  Mohammedan  neighbor,  who 
had  just  brought  home  a  new  wife  encumbered  with 
her  little  four-year-old  daughter,  had  been  cruelly 
ill-treating  the  little  mite  by  shutting  her  in  a  dark 
cellar  for  hours  at  a  time. 

The  moral  effect  of  divorce  on  the  children  is  very 
bad.  They  often  seem  to  have  an  inborn  passion  of 
hatred  and  jealousy.  The  head  mistress  of  a  school 
for  girls  said  she  had  often  noticed  how  little  gentle 
affection  and  love  seemed  to  exist  between  Moham- 
medan sisters.  These  passions  are  also  trained  into 
them,  for  they  constantly  hear  their  parents  spoken 
against  and  see  the  jealousy  that  exists  between  their 
mothers  and  the  wives  who  have  supplanted  them. 

The  children  of  divorced  parents,  being  neglected 
and  not  having  any  settled  home,  generally  grow  up 
in  ignorance,  because  they  do  not  stay  long  enough 
in  one  place  to  go  to  school  regularly.  A  school  was 
established  in  a  Mohammedan  quarter  of  a  large  city 
with  a  view  to  reaching  the  people  in  that  district,  but 
they  were  of  a  class  whose  social  system  was  in 
such  a  constant  state  of  upheaval  by  divorcing  and 
marrying  new  wives  that  it  was  quite  impossible  to 
keep  the  children  in  school  long  enough  at  a  time 


48  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

to  make  any  impression  upon  them.  When  asked 
why  a  certain  Zeinab  had  not  put  in  her  appearance, 
"Oh,  she  has  gone  to  see  her  mother  who  lives  across 
the  canal." — "Where  is  Tantaweyah  to-day?" — 
"Gone  to  stay  with  her  father  awhile  in  another  vil- 
lage."— "What  can  be  the  matter  with  Kaleela?"  the 
teacher  asks.  She  knew  Kaleela  loved  school  and 
would  not  stay  away  without  an  excuse,  and  she 
knew  that  her  father  wanted  her  to  stay  in  school, 
but  she  had  a  suspicion  that  the  new  wife  at  home 
had  been  the  means  of  putting  a  stop  to  Kaleela's 
schooldays.  Her  suspicion  was  true,  for  the  new 
wife's  new  baby  required  a  nurse. 

The  institution  of  polygamy  like  that  of  divorce 
is  a  natural  consequence  of  the  strict  seclusion  of 
woman,  for  it  would  be  unfair  to  a  man  to  be  put 
under  the  necessity  of  taking  a  wife  he  had  never 
seen  without  allowing  him  some  license  should  he  be 
disappointed  in  her.  In  fact,  polygamy  was  the 
original  institution,  a  relic  of  the  ancient  and  more 
barbarous  times,  Jewish  as  well  as  Heathen.  By 
making  polygamy  a  religious  institution,  the  Prophet 
preserved  a  relic  of  barbarism. 

Yet  even  among  Mohammedans  polygamy  is  a 
dying  institution.  Its  death-blow  has  been  struck 
because  educated  Moslems  are  beginning  to  be 
ashamed  of  it  and  doctors  of  Mohammedan  law  are 
beginning  to  interpret  the  law  to  mean  that  Mo- 
hammed allowed  a  man  to  have  four  wives  on  the 
condition  that  he  could  treat  all  alike;  and  since 


THE  YOKE  OF  SOCIAL  EVILS          49 

human  nature  makes  that  condition  next  to  an  im- 
possibility therefore  Mohammed  meant  for  a  man 
to  have  only  one  wife!  Many  educated  Moham- 
medans in  Egypt  are  taking  this  position.  Among 
the  middle  classes  the  difficulty  of  supporting  more 
than  one  wife  at  a  time  is  decreasing  polygamy. 
But  by  no  means  is  polygamy  an  unheard-of  thing, 
even  if  it  is  going  out  of  fashion.  Fashion  is  always 
slow  in  reaching  the  country  places,  and  it  seems  to 
be  in  the  country  villages  that  polygamy  seems  to  be 
more  generally  practised.  Two  brothers,  represent- 
ative country-men,  wealthy  and  conservative,  were 
known  to  have  very  extensive  harems,  each  one  hav- 
ing twenty-four  wives  and  concubines. 

Many  fruitless  attempts  have  been  made  to  de- 
fend polygamy  and  to  defend  the  prophet  of  Islam 
for  preserving  it,  but,  as  a  careful  student  of  social 
and  moral  ethics  has  said,  "To  an  ideal  love,  polyg- 
amy is  abhorrent  and  impossible,"  and  when  ideal 
love  is  impossible  to  the  wife's  heart  she  is  degraded 
because  the  passions  of  hate  and  jealousy  will  quickly 
and  surely  take  its  place. 

The  Arabic  word  which  is  applied  to  a  rival  wife 
is  "durrah,"  the  root  meaning  of  which  is  "to  in- 
jure," "to  harm."  This  appellation  certainly  shows 
that  the  fellow-wives  are  not  expected  to  be  on 
terms  of  amity  with  each  other. 

The  most  common  excuse  for  taking  a  second 
wife  "over  the  head"  of  the  first  wife,  as  expressed 
in  Arabic,  is  that  she  has  failed  to  present  her 


50  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

husband  with  a  son.  To  die  without  a  son  would 
be  a  great  disgrace,  so  he  takes  his  second  wife.  A 
well-educated,  pleasant-spoken  Moslem  sheikh,  who 
was  teaching  some  new  missionaries  the  Arabic  lan- 
guage, was  just  on  the  point  of  marrying.  Being 
much  interested  in  the  young  man,  one  of  the  mis- 
sionaries took  occasion  to  impress  upon  him  some 
of  his  moral  duties  toward  his  new  wife.  Among 
them  that  he  should  never  take  another  during  her 
lifetime.  "Yes,  honorable  lady,  I  promise  to  do 
as  you  say  if  God  is  willing  and  she  presents  me 
with  a  son,  otherwise  against  my  will  I  must  take  a 
second." 

A  missionary  lady  and  a  Bible  woman  were  mak- 
ing some  house-to-house  visits  in  a  little  country 
village.  As  they  were  going  through  the  street  two 
smiling-faced  women  standing  together  in  the  door 
of  their  hut  pressed  them  to  enter  and  pay  them  a 
visit,  too.  In  the  course  of  the  conversation  it  turned 
out  that  they  were  fellow-wives.  "Have  you  any 
children?"  was  asked  of  the  older.  "No,  neither 
has  she,"  was  the  quick  response  indicating  her  rival 
with  a  nod  of  her  head.  Their  common  disappoint- 
ment in  not  having  any  children  seemed  to  draw 
them  together  and  they  seemed  more  like  sisters  than 
rival  wives,  but  if  one  had  a  child  and  the  other 
not  there  would  have  been  some  quarrelling  and 
trouble. 

As  can  be  quite  easily  understood  it  is  rarely 
possible  for  fellow-wives  to  live  together  in  the  same 


THE  YOKE  OF  SOCIAL  EVILS  51 

house.  In  one  village  there  were  two  houses  quite 
near  each  other.  One  was  known  as  the  "house 
of  Hassan";  the  other  as  the  "little  house  of  Has- 
san." The  former  is  the  family  house,  and  the  other 
is  hired  by  one  of  the  sons  for  his  second  wife,  the 
first  wife  being  in  the  larger  dwelling.  The  quar- 
rels are  so  incessant  that  it  is  difficult  for  any  one  to 
be  friendly  with  both  parties,  and  the  second  wife  is 
ruining  her  health  with  inordinate  smoking  "to  kill 
thought."  She  seems  very  lonely  and  dull,  but  says 
the  arrangement  is  good,  for  when  her  husband  is 
vexed  with  her  he  goes  to  the  other  house,  and  when 
vexed  in  the  other  house  he  comes  to  her,  and  she 
added,  "If  we  lived  together  and  he  were  vexed  with 
both  at  once,  he  would  have  to  sleep  in  a  hotel !" 

A  Bible  woman  was  wont  to  visit  two  young 
women  who  lived  in  a  large  apartment  house,  on 
different  floors  one  just  above  the  other.  At  first 
they  were  believed  to  be  the  wives  of  brothers,  but 
they  were  so  much  at  variance  with  each  other  that 
neither  would  enter  the  apartment  of  the  other,  so 
had  to  be  taught  and  read  to  separately,  much  to  the 
inconvenience  of  the  teacher,  who  could  not  under- 
stand why  two  sisters-in-law,  as  she  thought,  could 
not  meet  together  to  read.  She  soon  discovered 
that  they  were  both  wives  of  one  man  and  that  jeal- 
ousy was  the  cause  of  the  disagreement. 

Child-marriages  have  always  been  considered  one 
of  the  curses  of  the  East.  In  Egypt  thirteen  is 
about  the  average  age  at  which  the  girls  are  mar- 


52  OUR    MOSLEM   SISTERS 

ried,  but  one  is  constantly  meeting  with  cases  of 
marriage  at  a  much  earlier  age.  A  woman  of 
twenty-five,  prematurely  old,  seemed  to  take  great 
delight  in  telling  of  her  marriage  when  she  was 
only  seven  years  old,  about  as  far  back  as  she  could 
remember.  Another  often  tells  the  story  how  she 
escaped  being  married  when  she  was  only  eight 
years  old.  The  guests  were  all  assembled,  the 
elaborate  supper  had  been  enjoyed  by  all,  the  danc- 
ing women  had  been  more  than  usually  entertain- 
ing ;  the  time  for  the  bridal  procession  came  around, 
but  where  was  the  bride?  Her  father  searched  all 
through  the  house  for  her.  At  last  he  found  her 
lying  asleep  in  the  ashes  in  the  kitchen.  His  father 
heart  was  touched  and  he  said  to  those  who  fol- 
lowed him,  "See  that  baby  there  asleep !  Is  it  right 
to  marry  her?"  At  the  risk  of  bringing  great  dis- 
grace upon  himself,  he  then  and  there  stopped  the 
marriage  and  the  next  day  started  her  off  to  school. 
This  custom  of  child-marriage  is  one  of  the  very 
fruitful  causes  of  the  ignorance  of  the  women. 

Ignorance  and  superstition  always  go  hand  in 
hand  and  they  jointly  are  both  a  cause  and  an  effect 
of  the  degradation  of  women  in  Egypt.  Super- 
stition might  almost  be  called  the  religion  of 
feminine  Egypt.  The  people  have  many  curious 
beliefs  about  the  influence  of  the  "evil  eye"  and  as 
many  curious  charms  to  protect  them  from  this  in- 
fluence. Many  mothers  will  not  wash  their  chil- 
dren for  fear  they  may  be  made  attractive  and  thus 


THE  YOKE  OF  SOCIAL  EVILS  53 

fall  under  the  influence  of  the  evil  eye.  One  woman 
never  compliments  another  woman's  child  for  the 
same  reason.  Two  women  were  companions  in 
travel  on  the  train ;  by  way  of  introducing  the  conver- 
sation, one  said  to  the  other,  "What  is  that  ugly 
thing  black  as  tar  in  your  arms  ?"  The  other  smil- 
ing held  out  her  little  baby.  "Ugh!  how  ugly!" 
said  the  first  woman.  "Is  it  a  boy  or  a  girl?" — 
"A  girl,"  said  the  mother,  but  it  was  quite  under- 
stood that  it  was  a  boy.  Boys  on  account  of  the 
very  high  premium  put  upon  them  in  Egypt  are 
considered  to  be  very  much  subject  to  the  influ- 
ence of  the  "evil  eye,"  so  often  he  is  dressed  as  a 
girl  and  called  by  a  girl's  name  till  he  reaches  the 
age  when  he  rebels. 

The  social  evils  of  Egypt  are  endless,  but  there  is 
a  hope  of  better  things  for  the  future.  One  of  the 
characteristics  of  the  "New  Egypt"  is  a  reaching 
out  after  higher  ideals.  The  ideal  of  the  marriage 
relation  is  rising,  the  educated  young  Egyptian  is 
beginning  to  claim  his  right  to  choose  his  own 
bride,  thus  making  the  marriage  relation  more  stable 
because  the  grounds  of  compatibility  are  surer. 
With  this  change  of  ideas  on  the  marriage  question 
and  because  an  educated  man  would  rather  choose 
an  educated  wife,  there  is  a  growing  demand  for 
female  education. 

The  evangelical  community  has  the  reputation  of 
being  the  best  educated  class  of  people  in  Egypt. 
The  last  census  of  all  Egypt  showed  that  only  forty- 


54  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

eight  in  one  thousand  could  read.  A  special  census 
of  the  native  evangelical  community  showed  that 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  in  one  thousand  could 
read.  The  census  also  brought  out  the  fact  that  in 
the  evangelical  community  female  education  has 
taken  a  great  step  in  advance,  showing  that  while 
in  all  Egypt  only  six  women  in  one  thousand  could 
read,  in  the  evangelical  community  two  hundred  in 
one  thousand  could  read. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  take  a  peep  into  some 
of  the  homes  of  these  representative  Christian 
women  and  see  for  ourselves  how  a  Christian  educa- 
tion has  developed  those  wives  and  mothers  into  true 
home-makers.  First  let  us  get  acquainted  with  the 
dear  old  grandmother  who  has  just  been  on  a  visit  to 
her  son  and  his  family  who  live  in  our  city.  She 
and  her  son  have  come  to  make  us  a  farewell  visit 
before  she  leaves  for  her  native  town.  Her  feeble 
voice,  her  slow  step,  her  dimmed  sight,  the  appeal- 
ing marks  of  old  age  interest  us  in  her.  The  good- 
bye kiss  and  an  affectionate  pat  from  her  withered 
old  hand  draw  our  hearts  to  her,  the  tender  filial 
light  in  the  eyes  of  her  son  tells  us  that  this  gentle 
little  old  lady  has  been  a  power  for  good.  After 
they  leave  we  learn  in  conversation  with  those  who 
know  the  story  of  her  life  that  she  is  one  of  the 
faithful  mothers  who  has  endured  much  persecu- 
tion, separation  from  friends,  leaving  a  home  of 
wealth  and  influence  for  one  of  poverty  all  for  the 
sake  of  Christ.  The  best  commentary  on  her  life  is 


THE  YOKE  OF  SOCIAL  EVILS  55 

the  beautiful  Christian  home  of  this  son,  where  his 
sweet  ladylike  little  wife  presides  over  their  family 
of  clean,  well-ordered  children  with  all  the  gentle 
dignity  of  a  real  queen.  We  are  perfectly  at  home 
with  them,  for  we  see  nothing  but  what  accords  with 
our  ideal  of  a  real  home.  Without  any  previous  in- 
formation it  would  be  easy  to  know  that  this  home  is 
a  Bethel  where  Christ  delights  to  dwell. 

Let  us  go  to  a  distant  town  far  up  the  river  and 
visit  an  old  couple  who  have  spent  many  years  in 
God's  service.  Their  lives  are  a  perfect  illustration 
of  what  Christ  can  do  for  a  life.  Reared  under  all 
the  tenets  and  principles  of  Islam  and  not  being  con- 
verted to  Christianity  till  they  were  mature  in  years, 
it  might  be  doubted  whether  a  complete  change  could 
be  wrought  in  their  lives.  It  did  not  come  all  at 
once,  God  works  out  some  of  His  greatest  changes  in 
lives  slowly  and  quietly,  a  "growing  up  unto  Him 
in  all  things."  The  story  of  the  growth  of  these 
two  followers  of  Christ  is  long  and  interesting.  It 
is  enough  to  know  that  they  have  attained  to  that 
point  where  they  can  truly  be  called  a  "holy  temple 
in  the  Lord."  Their  home  is  a  model  of  Christian 
happiness  where  "cleanliness  and  godliness"  dwell 
together.  Their  lives  are  lives  of  service  for  their 
Master.  The  daughter  of  this  home,  a  woman  of 
rare  beauty,  carefully  brought  up  and  well  educated, 
is  one  who  although  yet  young  in  years  has  had  a 
marked  influence  for  good  in  Egypt,  first  as  a  teacher 
in  a  large  girls'  school,  then  as  the  honored  and 


$6  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

much  loved  wife  of  the  pastor  of  a  flourishing 
evangelical  church.  To  visit  her  in  her  home,  to 
see  her  in  the  midst  of  her  little  sons  and  daughters, 
to  join  with  the  family  in  the  evening  meal  which 
has  been  prepared  by  her  own  hands,  to  hear  her 
talk  of  her  work  among  the  women  in  her  husband's 
large  congregation  makes  one  reverently  breathe  a 
prayer  of  thanksgiving  to  God  that  He  has  let  us 
have  a  glimpse  of  the  possibilities  of  Egyptian 
womanhood. 

All  up  and  down  the  valley  of  the  Nile  can  be 
found  women  from  this  representative  two  hundred 
in  different  stations  of  life;  and  each  one  filling  in 
a  womanly  way  her  position.  Generally  she  is  a 
wife  and  mother,  but  a  true  home-maker  whether 
she  be  the  wife  of  a  noble  or  a  peasant.  Sometimes 
she  is  a  servant,  faithful,  honest,  and  helpful;  often 
she  is  a  teacher  throwing  out  great  circles  of  in- 
fluence, which  are  widening  out  till  thousands  of 
Egyptian  women  will  be  reached.  Sometimes  she 
is  a  humble  soul  who  gives  herself  over  entirely  to 
the  service  of  her  Master. 

Such  a  one  was  Safsaf,  converted  at  the  clinic. 
Her  husband  had  cast  her  off  because  she  was  nearly 
blind.  Her  great  desire  was  to  learn  to  read.  She 
was  presented  with  a  primer  and  New  Testament 
when  she  returned  to  her  village  after  being  in  the 
hospital  three  months.  Who  would  teach  her  to 
read?  She  begged  a  lesson  at  every  opportunity 
from  those  in  her  village  who  had  a  little  learning. 


THE  YOKE  OF  SOCIAL  EVILS  57 

No  one  imagined  that  she  was  such  an  earnest  Chris- 
tian till  she  soon  mastered  the  reading  and  after 
going  through  the  New  Testament  three  times,  she 
began  to  teach  the  very  ones  who  had  taught  her, 
rebuking  them  for  their  sins.  They  cursed  her,  say- 
ing, "Did  we  teach  you  so  that  you  would  accuse 
us!"  Her  old  father  learned  the  truth  through  her 
teaching.  He  then  arranged  their  little  hut  so  that 
she  might  hold  meetings  for  women.  Her  influence 
among  the  women  and  children  was  wonderful  and 
everybody  began  to  recognize  it.  Through  her 
efforts  a  boys'  school  was  started  and  a  capable 
teacher  was  secured.  The  greatest  desire  of  her 
heart  was  to  have  the  ministrations  of  an  evangelist 
in  her  village.  She  mustered  up  courage  to  go  to 
the  meeting  of  Presbytery  and  present  the  request. 
This  was  a  daring  and  unheard-of  thing  for  an 
Egyptian  woman  to  do.  But  the  members  of  Pres- 
bytery were  much  affected  by  her  pleading  and 
granted  her  request.  The  next  thing  was  to  get  a 
church;  she  gave  her  own  little  bit  of  ground,  her 
all,  then  begged  money  to  build  the  church  on  it. 
In  addition  to  these  wider  interests,  she  faithfully 
and  lovingly  fulfilled  her  home  duties.  Her  sister,  an 
ignorant,  selfish,  and  very  superstitious  woman,  was 
her  great  trial.  This  sister  became  ill,  so  she  took 
her  to  the  hospital.  The  doctors  told  her  there  was 
no  hope.  She  begged  them  to  allow  her  to  remain. 
Safsaf  spent  days  and  nights  praying  for  her  sis- 
ter's recovery.  She  began  to  mend,  and  the  prayers 


58  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

of  her  devoted  sister  at  her  bedside  that  she  might 
be  restored  so  as  to  have  an  opportunity  to  learn 
of  God  and  become  a  converted  soul,  led  her  to 
accept  Christ  as  her  Saviour. 

The  life  of  this  humble,  quiet-spoken,  earnest- 
hearted,  patient,  loving  woman,  who  lives  close  to 
Christ,  is  exercising  an  influence  in  her  native  village 
which  even  men  wonder  at,  but  only  God  knows  how 
far-reaching  it  is. 

The  possibilities  of  the  Egyptian  women  are  great 
either  for  good  or  for  evil. 

It  is  said  that  Ismail  Pasha,  the  grandfather  of  the 
present  Khedive,  who  in  his  day  ruled  Egypt  with 
a  tyrant's  hand,  was  himself  ruled  by  a  woman.  His 
mother,  a  woman  of  strong  character,  was  the  power 
behind  the  throne.  Much  has  been  said  about  the 
downtrodden  condition  of  Egyptian  women,  and 
none  too  much.  Islam  puts  its  heel  on  the  neck  of 
woman.  It  debases  and  despises  her.  But  there  is 
another  side  to  the  picture.  Woman  was  born  an 
invincible  spirit,  which  even  the  yoke  of  Islam  has 
not  been  able  to  crush.  And  in  Egypt  scarcely  less 
than  in  lands  where  she  is  more  honored,  she  exer- 
cises a  sway  that  can  neither  be  denied  or  despised. 
The  lords  of  creation — and  that  the  men  of  Egypt 
feel  themselves  decidedly  to  be — yield  to  their 
women  far  more  than  a  casual  observer  or  even 
they  themselves  imagine. 

An  illustration  of  this  is  seen  in  connection  with 
the  mourning  customs.  The  government,  and  in  the 


THE  YOKE  OF  SOCIAL  EVILS  59 

case  of  the  Copts,  the  Church  also,  has  interfered 
to  break  up  the  violent  mourning  of  the  women  at 
the  time  of  deaths.  Yet  very  little  have  they 
yielded. 

This  is  only  one  of  a  thousand  instances  in  which, 
despite  all  restrictions,  they  do  as  they  please.  But 
their  influence  reaches  to  far  deeper  things.  They 
cling  to  superstitions  and  a  false  faith  with  far  more 
tenacity  than  do  the  men.  They  bring  up  their  chil- 
dren in  the  same  way.  It  is  they  who  make  the 
marriages  for  their  sons;  and  they  rule  their 
daughters-in-law.  They  keep  many  a  man  from  act- 
ing up  to  his  religious  convictions,  and  drag  many 
a  one  back  to  the  denial  of  his  faith.  They  submit 
in  many  things;  they  are  weaker,  but  it  is  true  that 
work  for  women  lies  at  the  very  foundation  of  mis- 
sion work.  An  Egyptian  once  said  in  answer  to  a 
statement  that  the  primary  object  of  Mission  schools 
for  girls  was  to  lead  them  to  Christ,  "If  you  get  the 
girls  for  Christ,  you  get  Egypt  for  Christ." 


IV 
THE  WOMEN  OF  EGYPT  ONCE  MORE 

"Hasten  the  redemption  of  woman  ...  by  restoring  her 
to  her  mission  of  inspiration,  prayer,  and  pity." 

— MAZZINI. 

WHAT  are  the  women  like?  Are  they  pretty? 
How  do  they  bring  up  their  children?  How  do 
they  keep  their  homes?  Do  you  like  them?  Are 
they  lovable? 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  many  questions  which  are 
put  to  the  traveller  and  resident  in  Egypt,  by  those 
interested,  for  various  reasons,  in  the  land  and  its 
people. 

How  differently  these  questions  can  be  answered. 
The  ordinary  tourist  sees  the  black-robed  figures 
(with  features  invisible  except  for  two  -eyes  peer- 
ing over  a  black  crape  veil)  walking  in  the  streets 
of  the  cities,  or  driving  sitting  huddled  together  on 
karros,*  and  he  remarks  on  the  discomfort  of  the 
costume  and  the  cleverness  with  which  they  succeed 
in  balancing  themselves  on  the  jolting  springless 
carts.  Or  again  he  sees  ladies  of  the  upper  class 
driving  in  their  carriages  and  motor  broughams, 

*Long  narrow  carts,  the  sides  of  which  are  only  very 
slightly  raised. 

60 


BARGAINS    IN    ORANGES 


BY  THE   BANKS   OF   THE   NILE 


THE  WOMEN  OF  EGYPT  ONCE  MORE       61 

wearing  indeed  the  inevitable  "habarah"  and  veil,* 
but  the  former  cut  so  as  to  well  expose  the  upper 
part  of  the  person  which  is  clothed  in  rich  satins  and 
adorned  with  sparkling  jewels,  and  the  latter  made 
in  such  fine  white  chiffon  and  hung  so  loosely  over 
the  lower  part  of  the  face  only,  that  the  features 
are  distinctly  visible ;  and  he  marks  with  a  smile  the 
effort  made  by  woman  to  emancipate  herself  from 
customs  which  deny  her  the  prerogative  of  attract- 
ing admiration  to  herself. 

Again,  perchance,  he  sees  the  "fellahah"  carrying 
her  water  jar  with  ease  and  grace  along  some  rough 
uneven  track;  or,  may  be,  in  company  with  others 
bearing  with  agility  and  strength  loads  of  mud  and 
brick  to  the  builders,  measuring  her  steps  and  ac- 
tions to  the  music  of  some  native  chant;  and  he  is 

*The  former  is  the  black  covering  worn  by  all  classes. 
The  poorer  women  make  it  of  two  lengths  of  material  two 
metres  long,  joined  together  on  the  selvedge.  The  ends  of 
one  breadth  are  sewn  up  and  form  the  skirt,  while  the  upper 
breadth  is  left  to  pass  over  the  head  and  fold  over  the  upper 
part  of  the  person  like  a  shawl.  The  richer,  from  the  middle 
class  upwards,  sew  the  lower  breadth  into  a  band  forming  a 
skirt,  and  the  upper  breadth  is  cut  smaller  to  form  only  a 
cape  fastened  on  to  the  waist  band  at  the  back,  coming  up 
over  the  head,  falling  by  rights  over  the  whole  upper  part  of 
the  body,  but  frequently  cut  so  as  to  scarcely  reach  the  elbow. 
The  latter  is  worn  by  the  poorer  classes;  and  by  many  of  the 
older  women  of  the  better  class  it  is  made  of  black  crape  and 
is  tied  over  the  face  from  just  below  the  eyes  and  extends  to 
below  the  waist;  by  the  upper  classes  and  more  wealthy  it 
was  made  in  fine  white  muslin  but  sufficient  to  disguise  the 
features.  Now  it  is  frequently  made  in  chiffon. 


62  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

impressed  with  the  idea  of  her  bright  existence  and 
her  powers  of  perfect  enjoyment. 

Again  he  sees  her,  whether  in  city  or  village  alike, 
following  the  bier  which  is  carrying  all  that  is  left 
of  one  who  may  or  may  not  have  been  dear  to  her, 
and  he  hears  the  shrill  death  wail,  and  he  notes 
either  the  bitterness  of  hopeless  sorrow,  or  the  hol- 
lowness  of  a  make-belief  grief ;  and  he  is  struck  with 
the  demonstrativeness  of  the  women  and  the  pecu- 
liarity of  the  scene,  and  will  try  to  get  a  snap-shot 
of  it  on  his  kodak,  and  then  he  passes  on  to  things 
of  other  interest.  Thus  the  tourist  gets  to  know 
something  of  the  women,  it  is  true,  but  all  that  lies 
behind  these  outside  scenes  is  closed  to  him,  and 
rarely  known. 

To  the  British  resident  the  Egyptian  woman  is 
usually  less  interesting  than  to  the  tourist.  The  nov- 
elty of  her  peculiarities  and  picturesqueness  has  worn 
off,  and  between  her  and  her  more  fortunate  sisters 
of  the  West  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed.  Very  rarely 
is  an  attempt  made  to  bridge  this  gulf;  language 
and  customs  apparently  form  an  impassable  barrier, 
and  though  many  English  ladies  live  in  Egypt  for 
years,  they  never  enter  an  Egyptian  house,  or  speak 
to  an  Egyptian  woman. 

It  is  therefore  left  to  the  Christian  missionary  to 
know — and  to  know  with  an  ever  widening  knowl- 
edge— what  are  the  disabilities  and  what  the  capa- 
bilities as  well  as  possibilities  of  these  daughters  of 
Hagar. 


THE  WOMEN  OF  EGYPT  ONCE  MORE       63 

A  woman's  life  may  truly  be  said  to  have  its 
commencement  in  betrothal.  Before  then  she  is 
a  child,  and  the  days  of  her  childhood  are  usually 
spent  without  any  form  of  restraint  whatever. 
Most  of  her  time,  even  if  she  be  the  daughter  of  quite 
well-to-do  people,  is  often  spent  playing  in  the 
streets,  where  she  learns  much  that  is  evil  and  little 
that  is  good.  The  one  great  reason  which  many 
parents  give  who  wish  to  put  their  children  to  school 
is,  "to  keep  her  out  of  the  street,  where  she  plays  in 
the  dirt  and  learns  bad  language."  But  whether  she 
goes  to  school  or  not  the  life  of  a  little  girl  except 
in  school  hours  is  a  perfectly  free,  untrained  life  in 
which  she  learns  no  morality,  not  even  obedience  to 
her  parents.  If  she  does  obey  them  it  is  from  ab- 
ject fear  of  punishment,  when  disobedience  would 
inevitably  mean  a  severe  beating.  Between  the  ages 
of  ten  to  fifteen,  usually  about  twelve  and  often 
earlier,  the  little  girl  is  betrothed  and  then  confine- 
ment to  the  house  begins.  In  one  hour  her  life  is 
changed,  no  more  playing  about  in  the  street  and 
acting  upon  the  impulse  of  her  own  sweet  will,  no 
more  for  her  the  child's  delight  of  spending  her 
millieme  or  two  at  the  costermonger's  cart  and  then 
sitting  in  the  gutter  to  eat  her  purchase  with  face 
and  hands  begrimed  with  dirt ;  no  more  for  her  the 
joy  of  paddling  in  the  mud  by  the  street  pump,  and 
climbing  and  clambering  about  wherever  she  can 
with  difficulty  get.  No,  she  is  betrothed  now,  and 
her  childhood  and  girlhood  are  over.  Instead  of 


64  OUR   MOSLEM   SISTERS 

freedom  and  liberty,  come  confinement  and  re- 
straint. She  is  not  now  allowed  out  of  doors  except 
on  rare  occasions  and  then  in  company  with  older 
women,  and  her  movements  are  hampered  by  her 
being  enveloped  in  "habarah"  and  "veil." 

Still  she  has  for  a  time  some  little  comfort  in  be- 
ing the  important  person  of  the  community.  She  is 
the  bride-elect  and  there  is  some  excitement  in  see- 
ing the  new  "galibeeyahs"*  and  articles  of  furniture 
which  are  to  become  her  own  special  property.  But 
then,  after  a  few  short  months,  sometimes  weeks, 
the  fatal  wedding  day  arrives,  when  the  child-bride 
is  taken  away  from  her  mother  and  becomes  the 
absolute  possession  of  a  man  she  has  often  never 
seen,  and  knows  nothing  about.  Her  woman's  life 
is  begun  in  earnest,  and  in  very  stern  reality  she 
learns  what  it  is  to  be  in  subjection,  she  learns  by 
bitter  experience  that  she  has  no  power  now  to  do 
what  she  likes,  and  that  she  is  subservient  to  an- 
other. 

Her  husband  may  be  kind  to  her,  and  in  many 
cases  is ;  but  in  any  case  she  is  his  slave  and  utterly 
dependent  on  the  caprice  of  his  nature.  If  she  her- 
self is  fortunate  enough  to  have  a  man  who  treats 
her  humanely  there  are  dozens  of  others  living  in 
her  quarter  who  come  to  see  her,  who  are  objects 
of  cruelty  and  malevolence;  and  so  her  mind  is  fed 

*  The  ordinary  dress,  cut  rather  like  a  dressing  gown  and 
made  in  cotton  or  silk.  If  the  latter,  it  is  usually  elaborately 
trimmed  with  flounces  and  lace. 


65 

with  histories  of  intrigue  and  divorce,  of  injustice 
and  retaliation,  and  of  unwritten  scandal  and  sin; 
until  she  too,  alas !  becomes  contaminated,  and  often 
brings  down  upon  herself  the  just  wrath  and  harsh- 
ness of  one  who  might  have  been  good  to  her.  His- 
tory repeats  itself :  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  she  can 
add  her  tale  of  woe  to  the  rest. 

She  bears  her  children  and  nurses  them,  thankful 
if  they  chance  to  be  boys;  she  has  no  heart  nor  abil- 
ity to  teach  or  train  them;  or  joy  in  keeping  them 
clean  and  pretty; — she  loses  two,  three,  or  more  in 
infancy;  those  who  are  strong  survive  and  until  they 
are  two  or  three  years  old,  take  her  place  in  the 
streets,  where  the  open-air  life  and  exercise  become 
their  physical  salvation. 

When  she  is  over  twenty,  she  in  her  turn  becomes 
an  elder  woman  and  is  to  be  seen,  usually  with  a 
young  baby  in  her  arms,  walking  in  the  streets  as 
she  goes  the  round  of  seeing  her  friends,  wailing 
with  the  mourners  at  the  house  of  death,  weekly 
visiting  the  graves  of  her  own  or  her  husband's 
relatives,  and  joining  in  the  wedding  festivities  of 
those  who  are  going  to  follow  in  her  train. 

What  wonder  that  the  Moslem  man  often  cries 
despairingly :  "Our  women  are  all  brutish,"  and  has 
not  an  atom  of  respect  for  her  in  his  heart.  In  the 
few  cases  where  a  Moslem  man  speaks  well  of  his 
wife,  and  calls  her  "a  good  woman,"  he  almost  in- 
variably attributes  her  being  so  to  his  own  foresight, 
and  diligent  insistence  in  keeping  her  wholly  under 


66  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

his  control,  limiting  those  who  come  to  the  house, 
and  not  letting  her  go  out  of  the  house  even  after 
she  has  become  an  elder  woman.  Between  thirty- 
five  and  forty  she  is  an  old  woman  with  grand- 
children, and  her  life  quietly  goes  down  to  the 
grave  with  all  the  light  and  joy  long  since  gone  out 
of  it,  and  with  a  dark  and  hopeless  future  before  it. 
A  few  illustrations  from  the  writer's  personal 
knowledge  will  not  perhaps  be  out  of  place  here. 

Fatimah  had  been  a  day  pupil  in  a  mission  school 
for  four  years.  She  could  read  and  write  well,  and 
sew,  and  do  fancy  work.  Her  father  was  dead,  her 
brother,  for  some  business  expedient,  arranged  a 
marriage  for  her,  when  she  was  thirteen,  with  an 
old  man  who  had  already  sons  and  daughters  much 
older  than  herself. 

He  was  a  head  man  in  his  village  and  lived  some 
distance  from  Fatimah's  home.  "Do  you  think  it 
will  be  a  good  thing  for  Fatimah?"  said  I  to  the 
mother.  "What  are  we  to  do?"  was  the  reply; 
"they  say  he  is  kind ;  and  far  better  to  marry  her  to 
him  than  to  a  young  man  who  will  only  ill-treat 
and  beat  her ;  we  are  very  poor  and  cannot  afford  to 
get  a  really  respectable  young  man." 

The  marriage  took  place,  within  two  months 
Fatimah  had  returned  home  but  was  induced  to  go 
back  again,  this  was  repeated  twice  and  on  return- 
ing home  the  third  time,  she  made  up  her  mind  to 
get  her  husband  to  permanently  divorce  her.  Her 
mother  of  course  abetted  her,  and  a  woman  (as  pay- 


THE  WOMEN  OF  EGYPT  ONCE  MORE       67 

ment  for  a  piece  of  fancy  work  she  had  asked  Fati- 
mah  to  do  for  her)  promised  to  bring  about  the 
divorce  by  some  plan  of  intrigue  which  she  would 
arrange. 

Fatimah's  life  is  blighted;  the  best  that  one  can 
hope  for  is  re-marriage  to  a  poor  but  respectable 
man,  and  to  go  through  her  life  with  him;  but  the 
probabilities  are  she  will  be  married  and  divorced 
time  after  time,  and  each  time  sink  lower  in  the 
social  scale.  She  is  not  yet  fifteen  years  old. 

Aneesah  was  a  little  girl  of  nine,  frail  and  deli- 
cate-looking, and  an  only  child  and  much  petted,  but 
often  she  seemed  possessed  by  the  devil  so  naughty 
was  her  conduct.  At  such  times  her  mother  would 
take  her  and  tie  her  up,  then  beat  her  unmercifully, 
until  the  neighbors,  hearing  the  child's  screams, 
would  come  to  the  rescue  and  force  the  mother  to 
desist.  The  mother  has  herself  shown  me  the 
marks  of  her  own  teeth  in  the  flesh  of  her  child's 
arms,  where  she  has  bitten  her  in  order  to  drive 
the  devil  out  of  her.  What  is  likely  to  be  the  future 
of  that  child  ?  One  shudders  to  think  of  it. 

Many  a  time  in  visiting  among  the  very  poor  I 
have  sat  with  the  women  in  an  open  court,  which  is 
like  a  small  yard  in  the  middle  of  several  houses,  in 
which  several  families  own  one,  two,  or  three  rooms. 
In  the  court  there  may  be  a  dozen  or  more  women, 
unwashed,  uncombed,  untidy  to  a  degree;  some 
bread-making,  some  washing,  others  seated  nursing 
their  babies : — babies  who  are  as  sick  and  unhealthy 


68  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

as  they  can  possibly  be,  their  bodies  ingrained  with 
dirt,  their  heads  encrusted  with  sores  and  filth,  their 
eyes  inflamed  and  uncleansed,  their  garments  smell- 
ing, and  one  and  all  looking  thoroughly  ill  and 
wretched.  It  is  the  rarest  thing  to  see  a  healthy- 
looking  baby. 

As  I  have  sat  amongst  them  and  talked  with 
them,  I  have  tried  to  reason  with  them  and  point 
out  the  advantages  of  cleanliness  and  industry;  all 
admit  that  I  am  right  and  that  our  habits  are  better 
than  theirs,  yet  none  have  the  heart  or  the  energy  or 
the  character  to  break  away  from  their  customs  and 
their  innate  laziness  and  to  rise  up  and  be  women. 

Yet  one  can  hardly  wonder  at  their  condition, 
what  chances  have  they  had?  Married  at  ten  or 
eleven,  untrained  and  untaught,  many  of  them  not 
knowing  how  to  hold  a  needle,  or  make  the  simplest 
garment;  still  in  their  teens  with  two  or  three  chil- 
dren to  burden  them,  whom  they  long  to  see  big 
enough  to  turn  out  into  the  streets  and  play  as  they 
did  before  them.  Their  only  interest  in  life,  each 
other's  family  brawls  and  scandals ;  their  health  un- 
dermined by  close  confinement  and  want  of  exercise, 
is  it  a  wonder  that  they  sink  into  a  state  of  callous- 
ness and  indifference  about  everything? 

I  have  seen  a  bright-spirited,  energetic,  laughing, 
romping  girl  of  eleven,  turned  in  one  year  into  a 
miserable,  lazy,  dull,  inert  woman  with  her  beauty 
and  health  gone,  and  looking  nearer  thirty  than 
thirteen.  One  often  does  not  wonder  at  such  a  con- 


THE  WOMEN  OF  EGYPT  ONCE  MORE       69 

dition  of  things,  rather  does  one  wonder  when  the 
reverse  prevails,  and  one  is  able  to  realize  their  pos- 
sibilities in  spite  of  all  their  drawbacks.  I  know  of 
women,  though  they  are  but  very  few,  equally  pqor 
and  unfavored  as  those  I  have  described,  who  can 
be  found  sitting  in  their  own  little  rooms,  their 
younger  children  with  them,  holding  themselves 
aloof  from  the  usual  gossip,  their  rooms  swept, 
themselves  clean  and  tidy,  their  babies,  though  not 
ideal,  comparing  favorably  with  the  others;  their 
one  apparent  trouble,  the  elder  children  whom  they 
do  not  know  how  to  train  and  whom  they  cannot 
keep  out  of  the  streets;  unless  indeed  there  chance 
to  be  a  mission  school  in  the  near  neighborhood. 

The  same  state  of  things  pervades  all  classes  of 
society,  though  in  the  middle  and  upper  classes  the 
Moslems  are  usually  very  cleanly  both  in  their  per- 
sons and  in  their  homes,  but  the  majority  of  the 
women  are  in  the  same  low  degraded  moral  state. 
Life  in  the  harems  is  spent  in  smoking  and  idle  gos- 
sip, and  things  far  worse;  the  wife  and  mother 
there,  no  less  than  among  the  poorer  classes,  has 
no  idea  of  responsibility.  She  is  frequently  unable 
either  to  sew,  read,  or  write,  and  leaves  her  children 
to  the  care  of  dependents.  Her  life  is  merely  an 
animal  life ;  she  is  but  a  necessary  article  for  use  in 
her  husband's  household. 

A  wealthy  merchant  who  has  had  several  wives 
keeps  one  in  a  beautiful  house  with  every  comfort, 
another  wife  of  the  same  man  is  left  to  live  where 


70  OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

she  can  with  the  pittance  of  something  like  three 
pence  per  day.  This  is  what  the  Moslem  faith 
allows. 

It  has  been  well  said  "a  nation  cannot  rise  above 
the  level  of  its  women,"  and  this  is  painfully  illus- 
trated in  Egypt  and  in  all  other  lands  where  the 
faith  of  Islam  holds  sway.  Much  is  being  done  to 
improve  the  social  conditions  of  the  people  of  Egypt, 
but  the  real  sore  remains  untouched  so  long  as  the 
teaching  of  the  Koran  with  regard  to  the  position  of 
women  remains  in  vogue. 

There  are  many  Mohammedan  gentlemen  who 
would  fain  see  a  better  state  of  things,  and  who,  like 
the  late  Mr.  Justice  Budrudin  Tyabji,  of  Madras, 
devote  their  efforts  to  the  amelioration  of  the  back- 
ward position  of  their  brethren  in  the  faith,  and  de- 
sire especially  the  "mitigation  and  ultimate  removal 
of  paralyzing  social  customs,  such  as  the  seclusion 
of  women."  But  their  efforts  are  unavailing  so 
long  as  they  remain  adherents  of  the  Moslem  faith, 
for  in  obedience  to  the  Koran  they  can  adopt  no 
other  course  than  the  present  one. 

Let  them  substitute  for  the  Koran  the  teaching  of 
the  Christian  faith,  the  faith  which  alone  gives 
woman  her  rightful  position,  and  they  will  find  that 
she  can  be  a  mighty  influence  for  good  in  the  social 
life  of  the  nation.  Let  her  take  the  place  ordained 
for  her  by  the  Great  Creator  as  the  "helpmeet"  to 
man,  let  her  fulfil  her  mission  in  the  world,  laid 
down  in  the  teaching  of  the  New  Testament,  to  love 


THE  WOMEN  OF  EGYPT  ONCE  MORE       7* 

and  influence,  to  cheer  and  strengthen,  to  pour  out 
her  life  in  the  devotion  of  love  and  self-sacrifice, 
whether  as  daughter  and  sister,  or  wife  and  mother ; 
then  will  the  women  of  Egypt  be  clothed  with 
"strength  and  honor"  and  then  will  the  daughters 
of  Hagar  put  on  the  robe  of  chastity  and  the 
"adornment  of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit." 

"Chastity — 
"She  that  hath  that  is  clothed  in  complete  steel." 

Her  price  will  be  "far  above  rubies,"  the  heart  of 
her  husband  will  "safely  trust  in  her,"  her  children 
shall  "arise  up,  and  call  her  blessed." 


V 
BEHIND  THE  OPENING  DOOR  IN   TUNIS 

THE  lot  of  a  Tunisian  woman  is  probably  a 
brighter  one  than  that  of  many  of  her  Moslem  sis- 
ters who  have  not  the  privilege  of  living  under  the 
enlightened  rule  of  a  European  government. 

It  is  not  possible  for  her,  under  existing  circum- 
stances, to  have  the  perfect  liberty  of  European 
women,  but  should  justice  not  be  granted  by  an 
Arab  tribunal,  she  has  always  the  right  of  appeal  to 
the  French  authorities,  who  take  care  to  see  that 
the  laws  are  rightly  administered. 

The  English-speaking  race,  accustomed  to  greater 
freedom  for  its  women  than  any  other  on  the  face  of 
the  earth  perhaps,  would  find  it  hard  to  be  shut  up 
in  an  Arab  house,  taking  no  long  country  walks, 
joining  in  no  outdoor  games,  knowing  nothing  of 
the  pleasures  of  shopping  expeditions,  having  no 
literary  pursuits,  and  meeting  no  men  outside  the 
circle  of  their  relatives;  and  indeed  it  is  a  sadly 
narrow  life.  But  we  must  remember  that  our  Mos- 
lem sisters  have  never  known  anything  better,  and 
the  majority  are  perfectly  contented  with  things  as 
they  are.  To  thoroughly  appreciate  and  make  a 
right  use  of  liberty,  one  must  be  trained,  there  must 
be  education  to  meet  its  responsibilities,  and  without 

72 


BEHIND  OPENING  DOOR  IN  TUNIS       73 

this  its  effects  would  be  disastrous.  To  an  Arab 
lady  who  never  goes  out  otherwise  than  closely 
veiled,  it  would  be  a  far  greater  trial  to  walk 
through  the  streets  with  face  exposed,  than  to  the 
European  to  cover  herself. 

Much  has  been  said  about  the  hardships  of  the 
woman's  being  locked  in  during  her  husband's  ab- 
sence from  the  house.  This  is  not  infrequent  and 
does  appear  somewhat  prison-like;  but  it  is  often 
done  solely  as  a  protection.  I  knew  one  woman  who 
preferred  to  be  thus  locked  in,  but  arranged  with 
her  husband  that  on  the  days  of  my  visits  the  key 
should  not  be  turned  on  her.  And  the  doors  of 
Arab  houses  are  always  so  constructed  that,  even 
when  locked,  they  can  be  opened  from  inside  on  an 
emergency  though  they  cannot  be  reclosed  without 
the  key. 

When  I  came  to  this  country  some  twelve  years 
ago,  the  thing  that  most  struck  me  in  visiting  Arab 
houses  was  the  cheerfulness  and  even  gaiety  of  the 
women.  I  had  a  preconceived  picture  in  my  mind 
of  poor  creatures  sitting  within  prison  walls,  pin- 
ing to  get  out,  and  in  utter  misery. 

Nothing  of  the  kind !  What  did  I  find  ?  Laughter, 
chatter,  the  distraction  of  periodic  visits  to  saints' 
tombs,  or  that  centre  of  social  intercourse — the 
bath.  Old  women,  the  scandal-mongers  of  the 
neighborhood,  go  round  to  retail  their  news.  (And 
it  will  be  allowed  that  even  in  England  there  are 
many  who  take  a  deeper  interest  in  the  doings  of 


74  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

their  neighbors  than  in  more  elevated  topics  of  con- 
versation. ) 

Here  Jewesses,  spreading  out  their  pretty,  silken 
goods  to  tempt  purchasers,  or  neighbors  who  had 
"dropped  in"  by  way  of  the  roof  for  a  gossip,  not 
over  a  dish  of  tea,  but  a  cup  of  black  coffee.  There 
Arab  women,  much  like  children,  quickly  shaking 
off  little  troubles  and  meeting  greater  trials  with  the 
resignation  of  fatalism,  which  finds  comfort  in  the 
magic  word,  "Maktoob"  (It  is  decreed),  in  a  man- 
ner incomprehensible  to  the  Western  mind. 

Is  it  surprising  that  I  almost  accused  my  fellow- 
missionaries  of  misrepresenting  the  home  life  of  the 
people  ?  But  I  only  saw  the  surface  and  had  not  yet 
probed  the  deep  sore  of  Mohammedanism  nor  real- 
ized the  heavy  burdens  which  its  system  entails. 

Let  me  tell  you  of  three  of  the  heaviest  of  these 
burdens:  Polygamy,  Divorce,  and  the  Ignorance 
which  results  from  complete  lack  of  education  and 
walks  hand-in-hand  with  its  twin-sister,  Supersti- 
tion. 

Polygamy  shall  be  placed  first,  although  it  is  not 
the  greatest  bane  of  Tunisian  home  life.  By  Mo- 
hammedan law  a  man  is  allowed  four  wives,  but  in 
Tunisia,  though  it  is  by  no  means  rare  for  a  man  to 
have  two,  he  seldom  takes  more  than  that  number 
at  one  time.  Occasionally  they  live  in  separate 
houses,  sometimes  in  different  towns,  and  may  be 
quite  unknown  to  each  other.  A  Moslem  will  fre- 
quently take  a  second  wife  in  the  hope  of  having 


BEHIND  OPENING  DOOR  IN  TUNIS       75 

children,  or  it  may  be  a  son,  the  first  wife  being 
childless. 

In  other  houses  one  finds  under  the  same  roof 
two  wives  of  one  husband,  each  having  a  large  num- 
ber of  children.  Each  wife  will  have  two  or  three 
maid-servants  who  sit  with  their  mistresses  and 
mingle  freely  in  the  conversation,  and,  if  the  family 
be  wealthy,  the  elder  daughters  have  their  own  spe- 
cial attendants.  Thus  a  household  may  contain  a 
large  number  of  women  who  live  together  more  or 
less  harmoniously,  and  whose  numerous  quarrels  do 
not  conduce  to  the  tranquillity  of  the  master  of  the 
house.  But  what  does  he  care  as  long  as  he  is  mas- 
ter and  reigns  supreme?  There  is  probably  not 
much  affection  between  him  and  the  wife  whom  he 
never  saw  before  the  wedding-day,  but  he  loves  his 
children,  being  specially  fond  of  the  little  ones  and 
showing  all  a  father's  pride  in  his  sons.  His  hours 
of  recreation  are  spent  at  the  cafe  or  the  more  aris- 
tocratic rendezvous — the  barber's  shop — and  the 
charms  of  sweet  home  life  he  has  never  imagined. 

Year  by  year,  however,  Western  education  is 
slowly  but  surely  telling  on  the  Oriental  mind.  The 
young  men,  trained  in  French  schools  and  imbibing 
modern  ideas,  show  a  strong  tendency  to  follow  the 
manners  and  customs  of  their  teachers,  and  it  is  at 
least  considered  more  "comme-il-faut"  to  take  only 
one  wife  and  in  some  measure  copy  the  European 
"menage." 

Divorce  is,  however,  the  great  curse  which  blights 


76  OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

domestic  happiness,  and  words  fail  me  to  describe 
the  misery  it  brings. 

The  Moslem  population  of  the  city  of  Tunis  is  sixty 
thousand.  Setting  aside  men  and  children  there 
remain,  roughly  speaking,  about  twenty-five  thou- 
sand women,  and  comparing  my  own  experience 
with  that  of  other  lady  missionaries  we  are 
agreed  in  affirming  that  the  majority  of  these 
women  in  the  middle  and  lower  classes  have  been 
divorced  at  least  once  in  their  lives,  many  of  them 
two  or  three  times,  while  some  few  have  had  a 
number  of  husbands.  In  the  upper  class  and 
wealthy  families  divorce  is  not  nearly  so  common, 
and  for  obvious  reasons. 

I  have  never  known  a  man  to  have  thirty  or 
forty  wives  in  succession  as  one  hears  of  in  some 
Mohammedan  lands.  A  man  once  told  my  brother- 
in-law  that  he  had  been  married  eighteen  times,  and 
I  heard  of  another  who  had  taken  (the  Arab  ex- 
pression) twelve  wives,  one  after  another;  but  this 
last  was  related  with  bated  breath  as  being  an  un- 
usual and  opprobrious  act. 

When  a  woman  is  divorced  she  returns  to  her 
father's  house  and  remains  dependent  on  him  until 
he  finds  her  another  husband,  her  monetary  value 
being  now  greatly  reduced.  The  quarrel  which  led 
to  the  separation  is  sometimes  adjusted  and  she 
returns  to  her  husband,  but  never  if  he  has  pro- 
nounced the  words,  "Tulka  be  thalethe"  (Divorce 
by  three,  or  threefold).  This,  even  though  uttered 


BEHIND  OPENING  DOOR  IN  TUNIS       77 

in  a  moment  of  anger,  may  never  be  recalled,  and  if 
he  really  care  for  his  wife  and  wish  to  take  her 
back  again,  she  must  be  married  to  another  man 
and  divorced  by  him  before  she  can  return  to  her 
first  husband.  But  the  laws  relating  to  marriage, 
divorce,  and  the  guardianship  of  the  children,  would 
require  a  volume  to  themselves  and  cannot  be 
entered  upon  here. 

One  is  led  to  ask,  what  is  the  cause  of  this  dark 
cloud  of  evil  which  casts  its  terrible  shadow  over 
so  many  homes  ? 

No  doubt  it  chiefly  arises  from  the  low  standard 
of  Moslem  morality  and  is  intensified  by  the  whole 
basis  of  the  marriage  relationship. 

Among  the  upper  classes  a  girl  does  not  often 
marry  till  about  seventeen  years  old,  but  a  poorer 
man  is  glad  to  get  his  daughters  off  his  hands  at  a 
much  earlier  age,  especially  if  he  can  obtain  a  good 
dowry  in  payment.  The  girl  goes  through  a  form 
of  acceptance,  relying  on  the  representations  of  her 
relatives,  which  are  often  far  from  truthful.  She 
never  sees  her  husband  until  the  wedding  day  and 
then,  no  matter  how  old,  ugly,  or  repulsive  the  man 
may  be,  it  is  too  late  to  refuse;  no  wonder  that 
mutual  disappointment  often  ensues,  deepening  into 
strong  dislike,  which  produces  constant  friction, 
culminating  in  a  violent  quarrel;  as  in  the  case 
of  a  young  girl  whom  I  knew,  married  to  an  old 
man,  and  divorced  a  few  years  later  through  a 
quarrel  over  a  pound  of  meat. 


78  OUR   MOSLEM   SISTERS 

The  history  of  the  two  little  girls  in  the  accom- 
panying photograph,  shows  clearly  the  contrast  be- 
tween the  life  of  an  English  and  that  of  an  Arab 
child.  It  was  taken  about  eight  years  ago  at  the 
birthday  party  of  my  little  niece,  who  had  been 
allowed,  as  a  treat,  to  invite  a  number  of  Arab 
girls  to  tea,  and  was  photographed  with  one  who 
was  about  the  same  age  as  herself.  The  one,  Doro- 
thy, is  now  thirteen  years  old  and  still  a  happy, 
light-hearted  schoolgirl,  carefully  sheltered  from 
all  knowledge  of  evil.  The  other,  Fatima,  to-day, 
sits  in  her  father's  house,  divorced,  desolate,  and 
soured  in  temper  by  her  hard  fate.  And,  indeed, 
her  story  makes  one's  heart  ache. 

Some  few  months  ago  she  was  married  to  a 
young  man,  who,  though  not  yet  twenty,  had  al- 
ready divorced  his  first  wife.  Still,  Fatima's 
parents  considered  that  no  drawback,  since  he  was 
in  prosperous  circumstances  and  willing  to  pay  six 
hundred  francs  for  the  charming  little  bride.  The 
marriage  festivities  lasted  a  week,  friends  showered 
blessings  upon  the  bride  and  the  bridegroom,  who 
were  mutually  pleased  with  each  other,  and  all 
seemed  to  augur  well  for  the  future. 

But,  as  in  the  old  fairy  story,  no  one  had  reckoned 
on  the  machinations  of  the  bad  fairy  who  soon  pre- 
sented herself  in  the  form  of  the  girl's  grandmother. 
The  old  lady  strongly  objected  to  the  match  on  the 
ground  that  a  slur  was  cast  on  the  family  by  Fati- 
ma's being  married  before  her  elder  sister,  Hanani, 


who  was  not  so  good-looking  and  had  consequently 
been  passed  over  by  the  professional  matchmakers. 
She  vowed  to  separate  the  young  couple  by  "work- 
ing the  works  of  Satan"  over  them,  which  in  plain 
English  means,  exercising  sorcery.  But  I  will  tell 
the  story  as  I  heard  it  from  the  mother. 

Five  weeks  after  the  wedding  the  old  woman  con- 
trived to  steal  secretly  into  the  bride's  room  and 
sprinkle  over  it  a  powder  possessing  the  power  of 
casting  an  evil  spell  over  those  she  wished  to  injure, 
and,  to  make  her  work  more  efficacious,  she 
further  wrapped  a  knife  with  evil  charms  and  hid  it 
amongst  the  bridegroom's  clothes.  Shortly  after 
she  met  the  young  man,  and  clutching  him  by  the 
arm,  her  sharp  eyes  gleaming  from  between  the 
folds  of  her  veil,  she  hissed:  "Know,  O  man,  that 
I  have  bewitched  thee  and  ere  long  thou  shalt  be 
separated  from  thy  bride!"  On  entering  the  house 
that  evening,  he  complained  that  he  felt  as  though 
in  a  furnace.  It  was  a  cold  night  and  the  family 
were  shivering,  but  he  kept  casting  off  one  gar- 
ment after  another,  exclaiming  that  the  awful  heat 
was  unendurable  and  that  he  was  surely  bewitched. 

This  went  on  evening  after  evening  for  a  whole 
week  until  he  declared  that  he  could  stand  it  no 
longer,  and  could  only  rid  himself  of  his  sufferings 
by  a  divorce.  Before  the  kadi  he  explained  that  he 
had  nothing  against  the  girl  nor  their  family,  who 
had  always  treated  him  with  great  kindness,  but  he 
was  under  the  influence  of  sorcery  and  must  be 


8o  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

divorced.  And  this  statement  was  accepted  as  per- 
fectly reasonable.  What  astonished  me  the  most 
was,  that  the  bride's  parents  exonerated  him  from 
all  blame.  As  the  mother  said,  "I  loved  him  as  my 
own  son,  but  he  could  not  help  it."  The  old  woman 
had  worked  the  works  of  Satan  over  him,  and  how 
could  he  escape? 

This  incident  shows  not  only  the  slender  nature 
of  the  marriage  ties  but  also  the  immense  power 
which  superstition  exercises  over  the  mind.  It 
seems  to  be  part  of  a  Moslem  woman's  very  nature, 
and  largely  influences  all  her  life  from  the  cradle 
to  the  grave. 

Beware,  when  visiting  an  Arab  woman,  of  too 
greatly  admiring  her  tiny  baby,  however  engaging 
it  may  be!  Such  admiration  would  surely  attract 
"the  evil  eye,"  and  then  woe  to  the  little  one !  The 
safest  course  of  an  ignorant  Roumi  (Christian)  is 
merely  to  glance  at  her  little  child  and  say, 
"Mabrouk"  (May  it  be  blest). 

Is  there  illness  in  the  house,  a  message  is  first 
sent  to  the  "degaz"  (soothsayer),  who  writes  a 
magic  paper,  encloses  it  in  a  leather  case,  and  sends 
it  to  the  sick  one  with  directions  to  fasten  it  on 
the  head,  arm,  etc.,  according  to  the  part  affected. 

Another  favorite  remedy  is  to  pour  a  little  water 
into  a  basin  on  which  passages  from  the  Koran  are 
written,  and  then  either  drink  or  bathe  with  it  as 
the  disease  may  appear  to  require. 

These  powerful  remedies  failing  to  restore  health, 


BEHIND  OPENING  DOOR  IN  TUNIS       81 

the  invalid  is  next  taken  to  the  tomb  of  some  cele- 
brated "saint."  There,  offerings  are  made  and 
prayers  recited.  A  favorite  resort  in  Tunis  is  the 
Zawia  of  Sidi  Abdallah,  situated  just  outside  the 
city  wall.  Here  a  black  cock  is  sacrificed  and  a 
little  of  its  blood  sprinkled  on  the  neck,  elbow,  and 
knee  of  the  sufferer  on  whose  behalf  it  is  offered. 

Before  our  house  stands  a  Zawia  (saint's  tomb), 
built  in  honor  of  a  female  saint,  and  at  this  tomb  one 
day  stood  an  Arab  woman,  knocking  gently  at  the 
door  and  crying  in  piteous  tones,  "O  lady!  Heal 
me,  for  I  am  very  ill !  I  have  giddiness  in  my  head ! 
I  am  very  weak !  Do  heal  me !"  The  poor  creature 
calling  in  her  ignorance  on  a  dead  saint  not  only 
moves  the  heart  to  pity  but  also  creates  in  the  mind 
a  wonder  as  to  who  these  saints  may  be,  and  what 
has  led  to  their  being  thus  honored. 

Let  me  give  you  a  sketch  of  a  noted  dervish,  or 
saint,  who  has  just  passed  away.  I  first  saw  Sidi 
AH  Ben  Jaber  some  years  ago  seated  in  front  of  a 
cafe  in  the  Halfouine — the  quarter  where  the  late 
Bey  had  built  him  a  house.  By  his  side  were  native 
musicians  making  a  discordant  noise,  while  at  in- 
tervals the  holy  man  was  bellowing  like  a  mad  bull. 
Securing  a  corner  of  a  doorstep,  I  managed  to  peep 
over  the  surrounding  crowd  and  my  curiosity  was 
rewarded  by  the  sight  of  a  decrepit,  filthy  old  man, 
his  bald  pate  encircled  by  scant  grizzled  hair  and 
unadorned  by  the  usual  fez  cap.  His  sole  covering 
was  a  dirty  cotton  shirt,  open  at  the  neck  and  de- 


82  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

scending  no  lower  than  the  knees.  But  what  a 
shirt !  As  a  mark  of  saintliness,  it  had  not  left  his 
body  for  years,  but  had  gradually  increased  in  thick- 
ness, for  when  sufficiently  caked  with  accumulations 
of  filth  and  snuff,  a  clean  piece  of  calico  had  been 
sewn  over  it.  This  had  been  covered  by  successive 
layers  as  required,  until  it  is  just  possible  that  the 
initiated  might  have  been  able  to  determine  the  age 
of  the  wearer  by  the  concentric  rings  of  his  gar- 
ment ! 

Sidi  AH  was  not  always,  however,  thus  seated  in 
state.  He  would,  from  time  to  time,  parade  the 
Halfouine,  stopping  occasionally  to  demand  a  gift, 
which  was  seldom  refused.  Stories  are  told  of  swift 
judgments  overtaking  bold  Moslems  who  slighted 
the  wish  of  the  holy  man,  and  equally  thrilling 
accounts  of  deliverance  from  peril  to  the  Faithful 
who  granted  his  desire. 

Sidi  Ali  Ben  Jaber  once  met  another  Arab,  Sidi 
Ben  Faraji,  dragged  him  into  a  neighboring  shop 
and  insisted  on  his  buying  a  large  and  expensive 
block  of  marble  with  which  to  embellish  the 
"saint's"  house,  for  that  happened  to  be  the  holy 
man's  craze  for  the  time.  On  his  way  home  Sidi 
Ben  Faraji  had  to  pass  under  a  bridge,  which  fell, 
severely  crushing  his  left  arm,  and  now  was  appa- 
rent the  virtue  of  his  gift  to  the  holy  man;  for  had 
he  refused  to  buy  the  marble  as  requested,  the 
bridge  would  assuredly  have  fallen,  not  on  his  arm 
only,  but  on  his  whole  body,  and  he  would  have 


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BEHIND  OPENING  DOOR  IN  TUNIS       83 

become  a  shapeless  mass.  Our  "Halfouine  saint" 
was  sometimes  in  a  violent  state  of  mind.  Then, 
as  he  approached,  the  butchers  would  quickly  hide 
their  meat,  the  confectioners'  display  of  cakes  be- 
came suddenly  scanty,  while  other  shops  appeared 
equally  bare. 

The  "saint"  might  enter  a  shop,  turn  the  con- 
tents into  the  street,  and  work  general  havoc;  the 
owner  not  daring  to  say  him  nay,  but  cherishing  the 
hope  of  recompense  in  Heaven  to  atone  for  present 
loss.  In  cases  of  illness,  Sidi  Ali  would  be  taken 
to  the  house  of  the  sick  one,  and  his  presence  was 
said  invariably  to  bring  blessing  and  relief. 

He  is  also  said  to  have  foretold  the  introduction 
of  electric  trams,  but  this  appears  to  have  been  only 
thought  of  when  they  had  already  made  their  ap- 
pearance in  the  city. 

For  months  the  poor  old  man  had  been  growing 
feebler,  and  in  the  month  of  January  last  he  passed 
away.  His  death  caused  general  mourning  and 
lamentation,  many  women  weeping  bitterly.  The 
corpse  was  escorted  to  the  mosque  and  thence  to  the 
cemetery  by  various  sects  displaying  colored  silk 
banners,  emblazoned  with  Koran  verses.  Crowds 
pressed  round  the  bier  fighting  for  a  chance  of  seiz- 
ing it  for  a  moment  and  thus  securing  "merit"  in 
heaven,  and  it  was  only  a  strong  force  of  police 
which  prevented  the  whole  being  upset.  Fumes  of 
incense  filled  the  air,  dervishes  swayed  in  their  wild 
chants  till  one  and  the  other  fell  exhausted,  and 


84  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

when  the  tomb  was  finally  reached  the  bier  was 
broken  into  fragments  and  distributed  amongst 
eager  claimants  from  amongst  the  thirty  thousand 
Moslems  assembled. 

Such,  dear  readers,  is  a  Moslem  saint,  and  their 
name  is  legion.  It  is  by  the  intercession  of  such 
as  these  that  the  superstitious  hope  to  obtain  earthly 
and  heavenly  benefits,  and  it  is  at  the  shrines  of 
such  as  these  that  the  poor  Moslem  women  come,  in 
the  dark  days  of  trouble,  to  pour  out  their  hearts 
and  seek  for  help  and  blessing. 

Some  time  ago  one  of  my  schoolgirls  asked  me 
to  go  and  see  her  sister,  who  had  been  brought 
from  a  neighboring  village  seriously  ill.  On  reach- 
ing the  house  I  found  a  young  woman  of  about 
eighteen  stretched  on  a  mattress  on  the  floor,  and 
sitting  by  her  side,  her  husband,  who  was  at  least 
fifty  years  of  age.  The  poor  creature  was  in  great 
suffering  and  evidently  too  ill  for  any  simple  rem- 
edy, so  I  called  in  the  help  of  a  French  lady  doctor, 
who  kindly  came  and  prescribed  for  her. 

On  going  to  the  house  next  day,  great  was  my 
surprise  to  find  that  the  medicine  ordered  had  not 
been  given,  and  the  surprise  gave  place  to  indigna- 
tion when  I  discovered  that  the  family  firmly  be- 
lieved that  the  whole  trouble  was  caused  by  an  evil 
spirit  which  had  taken  possession  of  the  young  wife, 
and  that  the  black  sheep,  tied  up  in  the  courtyard, 
had  been  placed  there  in  the  hope  that  the  demon 
would  prefer  to  inhabit  the  body  of  the  animal  and 


BEHIND  OPENING  DOOR  IN  TUNIS       85 

might  thus  be  induced  to  leave  its  present  abode. 
Poor  young  thing !  She  died  not  long  after,  but  her 
friends  to  this  day  believe  that  they  did  all  in  their 
power  to  help  her,  and  her  death  could  not  have 
been  averted  since  it  was  surely  decreed. 

The  veil  that  shrouds  the  Moslem  home  life  in 
Tunis  has  been  raised  and  my  readers  have  had  a 
peep  at  its  sadder  side,  but  it  is  only  a  peep!  The 
farther  one  penetrates  the  more  intolerable  its  noi- 
some atmosphere  becomes.  Deceit  and  lying  are  so 
prevalent  that  a  mother  questions  the  simplest  state- 
ments of  her  own  son,  and  I  have  seen  a  mistress 
insist  on  a  servant  swearing  on  the  Koran  before 
she  would  accept  his  word.  Demoralizing  conversa- 
tion is  freely  indulged  in  before  the  children,  till 
their  minds  become  depraved  to  such  an  extent  that 
in  our  school  we  could  not  allow  the  girls  to  tell 
each  other  stories  or  even  ask  riddles  because  of 
their  indecent  character;  and  bad  language,  even 
from  the  little  ones,  was  a  thing  with  which  we  con- 
stantly had  to  contend. 

And  now  we,  to  whom  God  has  given  so  much 
light  and  so  many  privileges,  are  brought  face  to 
face  with  the  problem,  What  can  be  done  to  help 
our  Mohammedan  sisters  to  lift  the  burdens  which 
mar  the  happiness  of  so  many  lives  ? 

In  the  first  place  it  seems  to  me  a  necessity  that 
the  man's  eyes  should  be  opened  to  see  the  true  con- 
dition of  affairs  from  a  Western,  or  better  still 
a  Christian,  standpoint,  and  should  realize  the  larger 


86  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

amount  of  domestic  happiness  he,  himself,  is  losing. 
And  this  may  be  done  by  education  and  the  free 
intercourse  with  Christian  families,  which  will  give 
him  an  insight  into  the  joys  of  their  home  circles. 

As  was  before  hinted,  European  education  is  al- 
ready cultivating  the  intelligence  of  the  upper 
classes  and  slowly  extending  its  leavening  influence 
among  the  masses.  There  is  an  increasing  desire, 
not  only  that  the  boys  should  receive  a  good  French 
education,  but  that  the  girls  should  share  its  bene- 
fits too.  Tennyson's  words  in  the  mouth  of  King 
Arthur  have  a  new  significance : — 

"The  old  order  changeth,  giving  place  to  new, 
And  God  fulfils  Himself  in  many  ways." 

But  this  change  cannot  be  accomplished  in  a  day, 
nor  without  a  struggle  between  the  old  and  new  sys- 
tems. This  may  be  illustrated  by  an  amusing  scene 
I  once  witnessed. 

I  was  one  day  sitting  in  the  house  of  a  wealthy 
Arab  whose  mind  had  been  enlarged  by  travelling 
in  many  lands.  His  eldest  daughter  was  one  of  the 
very  few  Arab  girls  I  have  met  who  could  read  and 
write  Arabic  beautifully.  I  was  accustomed  to  give 
her  French  lessons,  and  she  was  at  that  moment  in 
the  opposite  room  across  the  courtyard,  taking  a 
lesson  from  a  Jewish  music  master  on  a  new  piano 
lately  sent  by  her  fiance. 

Suddenly  two  servant  girls  rushed  into  the  room 
exclaiming:  "Sidi  Mohammed  is  coming!  Here 


BEHIND  OPENING  DOOR  IN  TUNIS       87 

is  Sidi  Mohammed !"  The  grandfather,  the  head  of 
the  family,  was  at  the  door,  and  great  would  be  his 
wrath  should  he  see  his  granddaughter  learning 
music,  and  above  all  from  a  man.  Fortunately  the 
old  gentleman,  being  somewhat  infirm,  could  not 
quickly  descend  from  his  carriage  although  assisted 
by  his  two  men-servants,  so  that  by  the  time  he  made 
his  appearance  the  music  master  was  simply  hidden 
away  in  a  tiny  inner  room  and  the  whole  family 
assembled  in  the  courtyard ;  ready  with  profuse  sal- 
utations, welcomes,  and  kissing  of  hands,  to  con- 
duct him  to  one  of  the  principal  apartments,  not 
that  in  which  the  Jew  was  imprisoned.  I  have  often 
wondered  how  long  the  visit  lasted,  and  whether 
the  musician  was  as  fortunate  as  myself  in  being 
soon  able  to  beat  a  retreat. 

Yes!  the  people  are  ripe  for  education — but  is 
there  not  a  serious  danger  in  giving  them  education 
and  education  only?  Is  it  not  to  be  feared  that  with 
minds  enlightened  to  see  the  errors  of  Mohamme- 
danism, they  will  cast  off  its  bonds  only  to  become 
entangled  in  the  meshes  of  atheism  and  become  a 
nation  of  "libre-penseurs,"  so  that  having  escaped 
the  rocks  of  Scylla  they  find  themselves  engulfed  in 
the  whirlpool  of  Charybdis? 

My  second  illustration  represents  a  poor  Arab 
woman  entering  a  saint's  tomb,  over  the  portal  of 
which  is  written:  "He  (God)  opens  the  doors. 
Open  to  us  (O  Lord)  the  best  door !"  And  with  my 
Christian  readers  I  would  plead  that  they  would  do 


88  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

all  in  their  power  both  by  prayer  and  by  effort,  that 
while  the  doors  of  education  and  progress  are  being 
thrown  wide  to  these  Moslems,  the  best  door — the 
door  of  the  Gospel — may  be  opened  also,  so  that 
they  too  may  know  the  glorious  liberty  wherewith 
Christ  hath  made  us  free. 


VI 
"NOT   DEAD,  ONLY  DRY'* 

"!T  is  useless  to  plant  anything :  the  earth  is  dead." 

"No,  it  is  not  dead,  it  is  only  dry." 

"But  I  tell  you,  it  is  dead.  In  summer  the  earth 
is  always  dead :  see  here."  And  the  Arab  who  spoke 
stooped  and  picked  up  a  rock-like  clod,  that  he  had 
hewn  with  his  pickaxe  from  the  trench  at  his  feet. 
It  looked  dead  enough  certainly;  the  Algerian  soil 
in  August  is  much  the  same  in  texture  as  a  well- 
trodden  highway.  But  it  is  only  waiting. 

"It  is  the  very  same  earth  that  it  is  in  winter,"  I 
replied;  "all  it  wants  is  water,  and  water  you  must 
give  it." 

With  an  Oriental's  laconic  patience,  though  all 
unconvinced,  the  man  went  on  with  the  digging  of 
his  trench,  and  the  planting  therein  of  acacia  clip- 
pings to  make  a  new  thorn  hedge  where  it  had  been 
broken  down. 

And  with  a  new  hope  in  God  my  own  words  came 
back  to  me  as  I  turned  away.  "It  is  not  dead:  it 
is  only  dry." 

For  of  all  the  soils  in  the  world  our  Moslem  soil 
in  Algiers  seems  the  most  barren,  while  friend  and 
foe  repeat  the  same  words:  "It  is  useless  to  plant 
anything :  the  earth  is  dead." 

89 


90  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

But  in  the  face  of  both — in  the  face  of  the  hosts 
of  darkness  who  take  up  the  words  and  fling  them  at 
us  with  a  stinging  taunt — we  affirm  in  faith : 

"No,  it  is  not  dead.     It  is  only  dry." 

Dry :  that  we  know  sorrowfully  well ;  it  cannot  be 
otherwise.  It  is  dry  soil  because  Islam  has  come 
nearer  doing  "despite  to  the  Spirit  of  grace"  than 
any  other  religion;  it  is,  as  has  been  truly  said,  the 
one  anti-Christian  faith,  the  one  of  openly  avowed 
enmity  to  the  Cross  of  Christ,  the  one  that  deliber- 
ately tramples  under  foot  the  Son  of  God. 

It  is  dry  also  because  in  the  religion  itself  there  is 
something  searing,  blighting,  as  with  a  subtle  breath 
of  hell.  This  is  true  of  the  lands  where  it  has  laid 
hold,  and  true  of  the  hearts, — it  is  dry. 

Dry  soil,  NOT  dead  soil.  If  you  were  out  here  in 
Algiers  and  could  see  and  know  the  people,  you 
would  say  so  too.  The  next  best  thing  is  to  bring 
you  some  of  their  faces  to  look  at  that  you  may 
judge  whether  the  possibilities  have  gone  out  of 
them  yet  or  not :  women  faces  and  girl  faces,  for  it  is 
of  these  that  I  write.  Will  you  spend  five  minutes  of 
your  hours  to-day  in  looking — just  looking — at 
them,  till  they  have  sunk  down  into  your  heart? 
ARE  they  the  faces  of  a  dead  people?  Do  you  see 
no  material  for  Christ  if  they  had  a  chance  of  the 
Water  of  Life?  These  are  real  living  women,  liv- 
ing to-day,  unmet  by  Him. 

To  begin  with,  the  first  glance  will  show  their  in- 


•r. 


"NOT   DEAD,   ONLY   DRY"         91 

telligence.  Get  an  average  ignorant  Englishwoman 
of  the  peasant  class  to  repeat  a  Bible  story  that  she 
has  never  heard  before.  She  will  dully  remem- 
ber one  or  two  salient  facts.  Go  up  to  a  mountain 
village  here  and  get  a  group  of  women  and  talk  to 
them,  and  choose  one  of  them  to  repeat  to  the  others 
what  you  have  said.  You  will  feel  after  a  sentence 
or  two  that  your  Arabic  was  only  English  put  into 
Arabic  words;  hers  is  sparkling  with  racy  idiom. 
More  than  that,  she  is  making  the  story  live  before 
her  hearers:  a  touch  of  local  color  here — a  quaint 
addition  there.  It  is  all  aglow.  And  this  a  woman 
who  has  sat  year  after  year  in  her  one  garment  of 
red  woollen  drapery,  cooking  meals  and  nursing 
children,  with  nothing  to  stimulate  any  thoughts  be- 
yond the  day's  need. 

And  their  powers  of  feeling :  do  their  faces  look 
as  if  these  have  been  crushed  out  by  a  life  of  servi- 
tude? Not  a  bit  of  it.  No  European  who  has 
not  lived  among  them  can  have  any  idea  of  their 
intensity:  love,  hate,  grief,  reign  by  turns.  Anger 
and  grief  can  take  such  possession  of  them  as  to 
bring  real  illness  of  a  strange  and  undiagnosable 
kind.  We  have  known  such  cases  to  last  for  months; 
not  unfrequently  they  end  fatally;  and  more  than 
one  whom  we  have  met  has  gone  stone-blind  with 
crying  for  a  dead  husband  who  probably  made 
things  none  too  easy  while  he  lived. 

And  then  their  will  power :  the  faces  tell  of  that 
too.  The  women  have  far  more  backbone  than 


92  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

their  mankind,  who  have  been  indulged  from  baby- 
hood; their  school  of  suffering  has  not  been  in  vain. 
In  the  beautiful  balance  of  God's  justice,  all  that 
man  has  taken  from  them  in  outward  rights  has  been 
more  than  made  up  in  the  qualities  of  endurance 
and  sacrifice  that  stand,  fire-tried,  in  their  character. 

And  down  beyond  these  outward  capacities,  how 
about  their  spirit-nature?  It  may  be  hard  to  be- 
lieve at  home,  but  it  is  a  fact  that  just  as  the  parched 
ground  of  August  is  the  very  same  as  the  fertile 
earth  of  spring,  so  these  souls  are  the  very  same 
as  other  souls.  God  is  "the  God  of  the  spirits  of 
all  flesh."  "He  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  the  in- 
habitants of  the  earth."  For  IMPRESSIONABLENESS 
on  the  Divine  side,  they  are  as  quick  as  in  enlight- 
ened lands :  I  think,  quicker.  It  is  only  that  as  soon 
as  the  impression  is  made  "then  cometh  the  devil" 
with  an  awful  force  that  is  only  now  beginning  to  be 
known  in  Christian  countries,  and  there  is  not  enough 
of  the  Holy  Spirit's  power  to  put  him  to  flight. 
There  will  be  when  the  showers  come ! 

As  yet  the  soil  is  dry :  the  womenkind  are  a  host 
of  locked-up  possibilities  for  good  and  sadly  free 
possibilities  for  evil. 

The  dark  side  lies  in  untrueness  born  of  constant 
fear  of  the  consequence  of  every  trifling  act,  moral 
impurity  that  steeps  even  the  children — wild  jeal- 
ousy that  will  make  them  pine  away  and  die  if  a 
rival  baby  comes.  Their  minds  are  rife  with  super- 
stition and  fertile  in  intrigue. 


"NOT   DEAD,   ONLY   DRY"         93 

And  while  all  this  has  full  play,  unchecked  and 
unheeded,  the  latent  capacities  for  serving  God  and 
man  are  wasting  themselves  in  uselessness,  pressed 
down  by  the  weight  of  things.  There  is  something 
very  pathetic  in  watching  the  failing  brain-power  of 
the  girls.  Until  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  they  are 
bright,  quick  at  learning;  but  then  it  is  like  a  flower 
closing,  so  far  as  mental  effort  goes,  and  soon  there 
is  the  complaint:  "I  cannot  get  hold  of  it,  it  goes 
from  me."  Once  grown  up,  it  is  painful  to  see 
the  labor  with  which  they  learn  even  the  alphabet. 
Imagination,  perception,  poetry  remain,  and  re- 
sourcefulness for  good  and  evil,  but  apart  from 
God's  grace,  solid  brain  power  dies.  Probably  in 
the  unexplored  question  of  heredity  lies  the  clue; 
for  at  that  age  for  generations  the  sorrows  and  cares 
of  married  life  have  come  and  stopped  mind  de- 
velopment till  the  brain  has  lost  its  power  of  expan- 
sion as  womanhood  comes  on.  Life  is  often 
over,  in  more  senses  than  one,  before  they  are 
twenty. 

The  story  comes  before  me  of  three  warm- 
hearted maidens  who  a  few  years  ago  belonged  to 
our  girls'  class :  the  eldest  came  but  seldom,  for  she 
was  toiling  over  shirtmaking  for  the  support  of  her 
mother  and  sister.  This  sister  and  a  friend  made 
up  the  trio. 

Their  mothers  were  "adherents" — we  had  hoped 
at  one  time  MORE  than  adherents,  but  compromise 
was  already  winning  the  day:  the  daughters  had 


94  OUR   MOSLEM   SISTERS 

open  hearts  towards  the  Lord,  all  of  them  in  a 
child-like  way. 

Where  are  they  now? 

They  came  to  marriageable  age,  and  Moslem 
etiquette  required  that  they  should  marry.  We 
begged  the  mothers  to  wait  a  while  and  see  if  some 
Christian  lads  were  not  forthcoming :  but  no,  fashion 
binds  as  much  in  a  Moslem  town  as  in  the  West 
End  of  London. 

The  eldest  girl  was  carried  out  fainting  from  her 
home  to  be  the  wife  of  a  countryman.  He  was 
good  to  her:  his  mother  became  madly  jealous. 
Within  two  years  the  bride  fell  into  a  strange  kind 
of  decline;  when  death  came  there  were  symptoms 
showing  that  it  was  from  slow  poison. 

The  second  to  marry  was  the  little  friend.  At 
her  wedding  feast  those  who  had  forced  the  mar- 
riage on,  drugged  her  with  one  of  their  terrible 
brain-poisons.  The  spell  worked  till  she  could  not 
bear  the  sight  of  us,  and  hated  and  denounced 
Christ. 

It  wore  itself  out  after  a  few  months  and  light 
and  love  crept  back.  We  went  away  for  the  sum- 
mer. Before  we  returned  she  had  been  put  to  death 
by  her  husband.  Through  the  delirium  of  the  last 
day  and  night  her  one  intelligible  cry  was  "Jesus"; 
so  the  broken-hearted  mother  told  us.  She  was  an 
only  child. 

The  third  is  still  alive,  a  mere  girl.  She  has  been 
divorced  twice  already  from  drunken,  dissolute  hus- 


"NOT   DEAD,   ONLY   DRY"         95 

bands.  Long  intervals  of  silent  melancholy  come 
upon  her,  intense  and  dumb,  like  threatening  brain- 
trouble.  She  was  playful  as  a  kitten  five  years  ago. 

Poor  little  souls — crushed  every  one  of  them  at 
sixteen  or  seventeen  under  the  heel  of  Islam.  Do 
you  wonder  that  we  do  not  consider  it  an  elevating 
creed  ? 

And  yet  they  have  gone  under  without  tasting 
the  bitterest  dregs  of  a  native  woman's  cup;  for 
(save  a  baby  of  the  eldest  girl's  who  lived  only  a 
few  weeks)  there  were  no  children  in  the  question. 
And  the  woman's  deepest  anguish  begins  where  they 
are  concerned.  For  divorce  is  always  hanging  over 
her  head.  The  birth  of  a  daughter  when  a  son  had 
been  hoped  for,  an  illness  that  has  become  a  bit  tedi- 
ous, a  bit  of  caprice  or  counter-attraction  on  the 
husband's  part — any  of  these  things  may  mean  that 
he  will  "tear  the  paper"  that  binds  them  together, 
and  for  eight  francs  the  kadi  will  set  him  free.  This 
means  that  the  children  will  be  forced  from  the 
mother  and  knocked  about  by  the  next  wife  that 
comes  on  the  scene ;  and  the  mother-heart  will  suffer 
a  constant  martyrdom  from  her  husband  if  only 
divorce  can  be  averted.  The  Algerian  women  may 
claim  the  boys  till  seven  and  the  girls  till  ten  or 
twelve;  the  countrywomen  have  no  claim  after  the 
little  life  becomes  independent  of  them  for  existence. 

Look  at  the  awful  and  fierce  sadness  of  this  face : 
more  like  a  wild  creature  than  a  woman.*  She  has 
*  See  illustration  opposite  page  294. 


96  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

probably  been  tossed  from  home  to  home  until  she  is 
left  stranded,  or  wrecked  on  rocks  of  unspeakable 
sin  and  shame:  for  that  is  how  it  ends,  again  and 
again.  \ 

Turn  from  her:  we  cannot  have  her  to  be  the 
last.  Look  once  more  at  a  girl,  untroubled  as  yet. 
If  you  want  to  see  what  the  women  could  be  if  but 
the  social  yoke  of  Islam  were  loosed  from  their 
shoulders,  study  the  little  maidens  upon  whom  it  has 
not  yet  come.  Take  one  of  them  if  you  can  get  hold 
of  her — even  a  stupid  one,  as  this  one  may  be  with 
all  her  soft  grace — let  her  expand  for  a  few  weeks 
in  an  atmosphere  of  love  and  purity.  Watch  the 
awakening :  it  is  as  lovely  a  thing  as  you  could  wish 
to  see,  outside  the  kingdom  of  God. 

And  if  this  budding  and  blossoming  can  come  with 
the  poor  watering  of  human  love,  what  could  it  be 
with  the  heavenly  showers,  in  their  miracle-power  of 
drawing  out  all  that  there  is  in  the  earth  that  they 
visit.  Oh  the  capacities  that  are  there!  The  soil 
is  "only  dry." 

And  in  the  very  fact  of  its  utter  dryness  lies  our 
claim  upon  God.  "I  will  make  the  shower  to  come 
down  in  his  season;  there  shall  be  showers  of  bless- 
ing," is  His  promise.  The  "season"  for  the  show- 
ers in  these  southern  lands,  is  the  time  of  utmost 
drought.  It  is  not  in  July  when  the  gold  lingers  in 
the  grass,  but  in  September  when  the  tangle  of  the 
spring  has  sunk  to  ashen  gray,  ready  to  crumble 
at  a  touch — it  is  then  that  we  know  the  rains  are 


A  YOUNG   GIRL  OF   THE  ABU   SAAD   TRIBE 


"NOT   DEAD,   ONLY   DRY"         97 

nearing.     God's  "season"  comes  when  all  has  gone 
down  to  despair. 

So  we  look  round  on  our  Moslem  field,  and  tri- 
umph in  the  dryness  that  is  so  like  death,  for  it 
shows  that  we  need  not  have  long  to  wait. 

But  a  great  fight  is  fought  overhead  in  the  natural 
world  out  here  before  the  rains  are  set  free:  the 
poor  dry  lands  seem  to  wrestle  against  the  one 
thing  that  they  need.  Before  the  clouds  burst  there 
will  come  days — weeks,  perhaps,  off  and  on — of 
fierce  sirocco,  hurling  them  back  as  they  try  to 
gather.  Sometimes  they  seem  on  the  point  of 
breaking,  and  a  few  drops  may  get  through  the 
heavy  air,  then  back  go  the  clouds,  leaving  the  brassy 
glare  undimmed.  On  the  fight  goes,  and  gets  only 
harder  and  harder,  till  suddenly  the  victory  is  won. 
The  south  wind  drops,  or  shifts  to  the  west,  and  the 
clouds,  laden  now  with  their  treasure,  mass  them- 
selves in  the  east;  then  the  wind  wheels  to  the  east 
and  gets  behind  them,  and  in  an  hour  or  less,  unre- 
sisted,  they  are  overhead;  unresisted,  the  windows  of 
heaven  are  opened,  and  the  rain  comes  down  in 
floods  with  a  joyful  splash,  drenching  the  earth  to 
its  depths,  and  calling  to  life  every  hidden  po- 
tentiality. 

A  fight  like  that  lies  before  us  in  the  lands  of 
Islam.  It  has  begun  even  now;  for  we  have  seen 
again  and  again  the  clouds  gather  and  swept  back, 
leaving  a  few  drops  at  best,  and  these  often  quickly 


98  OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

dried.  They  are  not  yet  full  of  rain,  so  they  do  not 
empty  themselves  upon  the  earth. 

And  it  is  not  from  this  side  that  they  can  be 
stored :  it  is  not  the  thirsty  earth  that  can  fill  them. 
They  travel  from  afar,  where  ocean,  river,  and  lake 
can  breathe  their  vapors  upward,  swept  unseen  by 
the  wind  that  bloweth  where  it  listeth,  to  the  parched 
places.  We  need  you,  in  the  far-off,  Spirit-watered 
lands  to  store  the  showers.  You  may  be  but  a  road- 
side pool,  but  your  prayer-breath  may  go  up  to  be 
gathered  in  God's  clouds  and  break  in  His  "plenti- 
ful rain."  When  the  clouds  are  full  He  will  still  the 
sirocco  blast  of  evil  that  fights  it  back,  and  it  will 
come  down  with  the  sudden  swift  ease  that  marks 
the  setting  in  of  the  rains  here,  year  by  year. 

Do  we  believe  that  each  heaven-sent  prayer  brings 
the  cloud-burst  nearer?  That  one  last  cry  of  faith, 
somewhere,  will  set  it  free  ?  Do  we  act  as  if  we  be- 
lieved it?  Shall  we  give  ourselves  to  hasten  it? 

And  when  it  comes,  we  shall  see  the  latent  possi- 
bilities awake,  and  the  latent  powers  assert  them- 
selves, and  the  people  of  Moslem  countries,  men  and 
women,  show  what  they  can  be  and  do  for  Him  and 
in  His  kingdom.  For,  thank  God,  they  are  not 
dead  lands,  they  are  "only  dry." 


VII 
LIGHT   IN   DARKEST   MOROCCO 

THE  factors  in  a  Moorish  woman's  life  are 
largely  those  of  her  Moslem  sisters  everywhere; 
excepting  as  exaggerated  by  the  absence  of  all  Eng- 
lish or  French  influence.  In  Morocco  we  have  the 
rugged  path  Mohammed  allotted  their  sex  pain- 
fully adhered  to,  and  any  European  influence  of 
other  lands  conspicuous  by  its  absence.  The  lack  of 
education,  inability  to  read,  undeveloped  powers  of 
thought  handed  through  the  generations  of  thirteen 
centuries,  are  at  least  not  lessened  by  time  or  weak- 
ened by  heredity. 

The  families  in  which  daughters  are  allowed  to 
read  are  few  and  far  between:  just  an  occasional 
one  among  high-class  government  officials,  or  a 
favorite  daughter  here  and  there  who  is  destined 
to  support  herself  and  relatives  by  teaching  the  few 
privileged  to  learn  among  the  rising  generation. 
The  little  girl  is  seldom  welcomed  at  birth.  It  is  a 
calamity  she  was  not  a  boy.  A  few  years  of  half- 
freedom  for  the  town-child  and  hasty  neglect  for 
the  village  maiden.  Many  a  better-class  woman 
enters  her  home  as  a  bride,  in  the  carriage  which  so 
carefully  conceals  her,  and  sees  but  four  white- 

99 


ioo         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

washed  walls  for  the  remainder  of  her  days,  nor 
leaves  their  monotony  until  carried  out  in  her  coffin. 
What  uplifting  or  educating  influences  does  the 
bare  windowless  abode  (opening  only  to  the  central 
court  of  the  home)  exercise?  We  hear  betimes  of 
the  wish  to  remove  the  veil  and  allow  more  liberty 
to  woman.  In  Morocco  she  is  hardly  ready  for  the 
change,  but  needs  educating  and  preparing,  ere, 
with  propriety  and  true  modesty,  she  can  take  her 
rightful  place. 

Divorce  is  fearfully  common  and  easy.  Plurality 
of  wives  is  an  awful  curse.  The  chief  features  of 
home-life  are  quarrels,  intrigues,  attempted  poison- 
ings, and  rankling  bitternesses. 

Slavery  is  more  common  than  in  other  countries 
so  near  the  borders  of  civilization,  and  the  posses- 
sion of  these  human  chattels  denotes  the  measure  of 
worldly  prosperity.  Occasionally  they  find  a  kindly 
master,  but,  more  often,  are  inhumanly  treated  and 
regarded  as  so  much  property.  We  are  frequently 
urged  to  treat  the  slave  for  illness  and  so  increase 
her  market  value,  while  the  wife,  or  wives,  may 
suffer  unnoticed  and  unassisted. 

The  Moorish  woman  has  little  part  in  religious 
life.  She  has  no  merits  or  opportunity  of  attaining 
such,  unless  she  be  a  well-known  lineal  descendant 
of  their  prophet.  Very  few  learn  the  prescribed 
form  of  Moslem  prayers  and  fewer  still  use  them. 
Once  and  again  we  find  one  going  through  the 
positions  of  prayer  and  accompanying  set  phrases. 


LIGHT  IN  DARKEST  MOROCCO       101 

These  women  are  usually  the  most  difficult  to  deal 
with  and  least  ready  for  the  hearing  of  the  Gospel. 
One  of  them,  during  a  medical  visit,  drew  her  prayer 
mat  to  a  distance  lest  I  defile  it  and  closed  her  ears 
with  her  fingers  to  shut  out  my  words.  Undoubt- 
edly the  very  best,  and  often  only,  way  of  reaching 
them  is  through  the  dispensary. 

Their  lives  centre  largely  round  the  three  annual 
feasts,  in  preparation  for  and  enjoyment  of  them. 
Every  birth,  circumcision,  wedding,  death,  and  even 
serious  illness,  is  an  opportunity,  for  those  allowed 
sufficient  freedom,  to  receive  and  pay  visits,  feast, 
enjoy  the  accompanying  minstrels,  appear  in  their 
most  gorgeous  dress  and  criticise  that  of  others. 
Meanwhile  they  engage  in  empty  and  profitless  con- 
versation, which  too  often  passes  into  the  injurious 
both  for  body  and  soul,  of  young  and  old,  hostess 
and  guests.  Much  attention  is  paid  to  fashion,  and 
Moorish  etiquette  is  not  to  be  lightly  treated  or 
easily  fulfilled. 

Some  of  the  women  figure  in  the  weird  orgies  of 
religious  sects  of  a  private  and  public  character. 
Their  wild,  dishevelled,  and  torn  hair  is  prominent 
in  the  Satanic  dance  of  the  Aisowia  Derwishes,  and 
they  vie  with  the  men  in  its  frenzied  freaks,  falling 
finally  exhausted  to  the  ground,  unable  to  rise.  But 
this  class  fortunately  is  not  numerous.  I  was  visit- 
ing in  one  of  these  houses  last  year  in  Fez.  The 
occupants  were  strangers  and  had  come  pleading 
me  to  relieve  one  in  very  acute  pain.  The  atmos- 


102         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

phere  of  the  room  hung  heavily  over  me,  I  knew  not 
why.  Taking  my  colloquial  Gospel,  I  spoke  of 
Christ  and  asked  to  read.  A  blank  refusal  was  the 
answer.  Then  the  storm  broke  and  during  my  sec- 
ond visit  I  had  to  rise  and  leave,  asserting  my  union 
with  Christ  and  the  impossibility  of  having  me  or 
my  drugs  without  the  message  of  my  Master  and 
Saviour.  They  have  since  been,  when  the  violent 
pain  returned,  pleading  for  relief,  but  not  again 
inviting  to  their  house.  Such  uncanny  sense  of  the 
immediate  presence  of  the  evil  one,  I  have  never  ex- 
perienced, as  when  under  their  roof,  nor  would  wish 
to  again.  It  was  an  intense  relief  to  breathe  freely 
in  the  open  air  afterwards.  Yet  two  of  our  recent 
converts,  and  one  of  them  among  the  most  promis- 
ing, have  belonged  to  these  followers  of  Satan! 
Their  wild  hair  is  now  neatly  braided  and  they  are 
clothed  and  in  their  right  minds,  sitting  with  their 
converted  sisters  to  learn  more  of  Jesus  and  lifting 
up  voices  in  prayer  to  Him. 

Female  slaves,  from  the  far  Soudan,  are  betimes 
among  our  bitterest  and  loudest  opponents  during 
Gospel  teaching.  They  have  more  courage  than 
their  mistresses  and  are  more  outspoken.  Yet,  even 
among  them,  we  have  seen  notable  changes.  One, 
exceptionally  well-taught  and  able  to  quote  the 
Koran,  met  me  first  with  loud  contradiction  in  her 
Fez  home.  Frequent  attendance  at  our  medical 
mission  wrought  a  marvellous  change.  Open  oppo- 
sition first  ceased.  Then  an  awakening,  and  at 


A  BEDOUIN   GIRL   FROM   NOKTH   AFRICA 


LIGHT  IN  DARKEST  MOROCCO       103 

least  intellectual,  acceptance  of  the  vital  truths  of 
Christianity  and  readiness  to  explain  them  to  new- 
comers. When  she  had  to  follow  her  master  to  the 
south,  we  were  conscious  of  losing  a  friend  and 
helper.  She  took  with  her  a  Gospel  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  our  prayers. 

Classes  for  sewing,  reading,  and  singing  are  im- 
portant factors  as  means  of  reaching  the  women  and 
girls.  The  first  of  my  four  years  at  the  Tulloch 
Memorial  Hospital,  Tangier,  brought  me  in  contact 
with  a  most  interesting  woman.  Many  years  she 
had  been  under  Mrs.  Mensink's  teaching  and  other- 
wise had  known  the  missionaries.  A  gradual  awak- 
ening was  manifest,  until,  during  that  year,  when 
ill  with  pneumonia,  I  found  her  apparently  trusting 
Jesus.  One  difficulty  haunted  her,  she  was  igno- 
rant, could  not  even  read,  and  her  teachers  told  her 
Jesus  was  not  the  Son  of  God ; — must  they  not  know 
best?  A  few  days  before  her  death  she  joyously 
told  me  of  a  dream  she  had  had  and  assured  me  her 
last  doubt  had  gone.  In  it  Jesus  appeared  to  her 
and  proclaimed  Himself  the  Son  of  God.  No  after- 
cloud  damped  her  joy.  The  death-bed  was  that  of  a 
consistent  Christian.  Her  relatives  would  not  own 
it  and  buried  her  as  a  Moslem  in  their  own  ceme- 
tery, with  her  face  towards  Mecca. 

This  year,  in  one  of  our  inland  cities,  not  a  few 
members  of  sewing  classes  have  simply  trusted 
Christ  for  salvation  and  now  meet  for  prayer  and 
instruction  with  their  leaders.  A  native  women's 


104         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

prayer  meeting  has  been  formed,  where  each  of 
these  new  converts  takes  part  and  learns  to  pray. 
Several  also  have  been  led  to  Jesus  through  the 
medical  mission  and  the  visitation  of  their  homes. 

An  instance  of  earnest  simplicity  in  prayer  oc- 
curred in  our  own  home.  We  had  spoken  to  a  con- 
vert about  prayer.  She  said,  "I  am  too  old  to  learn 
and  too  ignorant !"  The  following  day  when  asked, 
she  replied:  "Oh,  yes,  I  prayed  this  morning." 
"And  what  did  you  say?"  "Well,  I  did  not  know 
at  first,  but  then  repeated  the  only  prayer  I  knew, 
the  first  chapter  of  the  Koran,  and  at  the  end  added, 
'in  the  name  and  for  the  sake  of  the  Lord  Jesus/ 
and  I  thought  He  would  understand  it  and  fill  in  for 
me  all  I  had  been  mistaken  in  or  unable  to  tell  Him." 
He  truly  did  so,  for  since  that  time  the  dear  old 
woman  has  learned  to  pray.  Grasping  my  hand 
after  one  native  prayer  meeting,  she  said,  "Oh,  to 
think  of  it !  three  of  us  praying  together  in  the  name 
of  Jesus;  three  of  us  believing  in  Him."  These 
were,  her  married  daughter,  an  only  son,  and  her- 
self. One  of  these  converts  of  last  spring  had 
typhus  fever  a  few  months  later  and  passed  into  the 
Presence  of  Him  whom  she  had  learned  to  love. 
Another  is  nearing  her  end  and  wonders  why  He 
tarries  so  long  in  coming  to  take  her  to  be  with 
Himself. 

One  day's  journey  from  Tangier  on  mule-back, 
lives  the  first  woman  I  ever  heard  pray ;  consistently 
she  seeks  to  tell  others  the  little  she  knows.  A  lady 


LIGHT  IN  DARKEST  MOROCCO       105 

missionary,  since  departed,  lived  with  her  a  fort- 
night in  the  early  days  of  the  North  African  Mis- 
sion. She  dates  her  conversion  from  that  time  and, 
without  any  resident  missionary  since,  dependent 
only  upon  the  teaching  of  a  few  days  or  weeks  dur- 
ing an  itinerating  visit,  she  still  knows  and  can  ex- 
plain to  others  that  "the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
cleanseth  from  all  sin."  Nearly  all  of  this  year's 
numerous  converts  are  the  result  of  much  seed-sow- 
ing and  the  patient  labors  of  long  years  past,  now 
gathered  by  prayer  into  the  fold.  Not  a  few  of  the 
sowers  have  passed  to  their  reward  without  seeing 
the  harvest  which  should  be. 

We  have  found  medical  work  a  powerful  hand- 
maid to  awaken  interest  in  the  Gospel  story.  To 
our  great  grief,  however,  the  continued  political  un- 
rest, due  largely  to  the  presence  of  the  Pretender 
and  rising  of  the  tribes  from  time  to  time,  during 
the  past  four  years,  has  almost  closed  up  this  highly 
useful  evangelistic  and  Christ-like  work. 

The  Northern  rebellion  would  have  ceased  long 
ago  had  the  present  Sultan  honest  and  energetic 
soldiers  and  leaders.  Few,  however,  are  impervious 
to  foreign  gold;  and  no  one  trusts  another,  unless 
he  pay  well  for  the  interest  in  his  affairs.  The 
Sultan  is  a  pleasant  and  enlightened  person,  but 
unable  to  cope  with  the  surrounding  lawlessness 
single-handed.  Many  a  tale  of  bribery  and  wrong 
reaches  us.  The  wild  tribes  know  no  other  fear 
than  that  of  seeing  turbulent  skulls  and  rebellious 


io6         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

heads  hanging  upon  the  city  gates.  We  went  down 
to  Fez  four  years  ago,  a  few  weeks  after  the  violent 
and  sad  death  of  our  dear  friend  and  brother,  Mr. 
Cooper.  His  only  crime  in  the  eyes  of  the  violent 
tribesman,  his  murderer,  was  that  of  being  a  for- 
eigner. Two  weeks  after  our  arrival  in  the  city, 
Consuls  ordered  foreigners  to  the  coast.  We  had 
to  obey.  Six  weeks  were  spent  in  Tangier  and  then 
again  we  returned  to  our  scene  of  labor,  the  large 
out-patient  dispensary  which  treated  over  eleven 
thousand  cases  last  year  and  so  reached  between 
two  hundred  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  with  the 
Gospel  on  Women's  mornings,  every  day. 

Two  years  ago  orders  again  came  to  pack  up  and 
prepare  for  emergencies.  The  storm  blew  over  and 
since  then  the  main  roads  have  been  practically  safe 
for  ordinary  traffic  and  merchandise.  Even  the  for- 
eigner can  securely  take  his  place  in  any  caravan 
without  fear  of  ill. 

Raisuli's  capture  of  European  and  American  citi- 
zens for  hostages  alarmed  many,  but  he  had  sought 
the  Government's  recognition  of  his  lawful  Kaid- 
ship,  and  when  refused,  wrongly  determined  to 
claim  the  same  by  force.  The  strong  hand  with 
which  he  now  controls  those  wild  tribes  under  his 
jurisdiction,  proves  his  ability  to  govern.  His  jus- 
tice, if  semi-barbarous,  is  certainly  ahead  of  that  of 
most  of  his  fellow  Kaids.  He  reversed  the  decision 
of  a  Moorish  tribunal  which  had  wrung  from  a  poor 
widow  her  lawful  property,  restoring  that  which 


LIGHT  IN  DARKEST  MOROCCO        107 

had  been  unlawfully  taken.  A  few  such  men  in  the 
highest  circles  would  soon  bring  order  out  of  chaos 
and  strength  to  the  throne.  The  English  mission- 
ary has  had  the  great  advantage  of  being  favora- 
bly received  by  the  people  on  account  of  his  or 
her  nationality.  It  stood,  to  them,  for  integrity, 
strength,  and  honor.  Whatever  changes  may  have 
taken  place  during  the  last  four  years  to  lessen  this 
trust  in  her,  England  has  still  much  favor  with  the 
majority.  Hers  were  the  pioneer-missionaries,  for 
where  no  man  would  have  been  trusted  or  allowed 
to  reside,  her  lady  workers  penetrated.  Before  any 
resident  Consul,  Miss  Herdman  and  her  companions 
went  to  Fez  and  commenced  medical  work.  She 
won  her  way  into  the  hearts  of  the  people  and  is 
still  lovingly  remembered.  It  was  her  work  which 
Mr.  Cooper  had  taken  up  for  a  few  short  years, 
when  so  suddenly  snatched  from  it  by  a  lawless 
fanatic's  hand.  The  seed  sown  thus  long  and  faith- 
fully has  lain  dormant.  Just  a  few,  one  here  and 
there,  gathered  into  the  fold;  native  converts  pre- 
pared for  colportage  work;  the  building  of  a  foun- 
dation on  the  Rock  Christ  Jesus.  But  to  those  who 
followed  her  has  been  granted  to  see  the  increase, 
and  begin  to  reckon,  even,  on  the  "hundredfold." 

The  coast  towns  have  ever  been  more  accessible 
to  the  foreigners;  yet  alas,  where  the  foreigner  is 
LEAST  known  the  native  is  most  receptive,  courte- 
ous, and  hospitable.  The  average  colonist,  or  even 
tourist,  seldom  recommends  the  Kingdom  of  God, 


108         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

and  the  native  points  to  the  drink  traffic,  so  opposed 
to  his  religious  views,  and  asks  how  that  is  included 
in  the  Christian  country's  commerce  and  consump- 
tion! 

Thus,  the  farther  removed  from  such  Christian 
influence  the  greater  the  freedom  for  Gospel  work. 
Tangier  was  first  opened;  Hope  House  being  a 
partial  gift  to  the  North  African  Mission. 

At  first  both  men  and  women  were  treated  here, 
but  the  great  desirability  of  conforming  to  Moorish 
rules  of  life  led  to  the  opening  of  a  Women's  Hos- 
pital in  the  town.  Here  I  did  one  year's  out-patient 
work  during  the  absence  of  the  efficient  and  inde- 
fatigable lady  doctor — Miss  Breeze — in  England. 
These  were  largely  the  ploughing,  seed-sowing 
days.  Since  then  several  have  professed  conversion. 
One,  on  returning  to  her  village  home,  was  bitterly 
persecuted  and  finally,  to  escape  death,  had  to  flee 
by  night  to  her  former  teachers  and  with  them  find 
refuge.  Some  four  or  five  of  the  elder  girls  in  the 
Moorish  orphanage  came  out  boldly  on  the  Lord's 
side.  The  teaching  of  girls  has  been  a  prominent 
feature  of  the  work  in  that  city. 

Larache,  two  days  down  the  coast  by  mule,  was 
permanently  opened  many  years  later,  some  medi- 
cal and  class  work  being  done,  with  house  to  house 
visitation.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor,  our  Scotch 
friends,  are  independent  workers  here. 

El  Kaar,  six  hours  inland  from  Larache  and  two 
days  from  Tangier  by  mule,  is  worked  from  the 


LIGHT  IN  DARKEST  MOROCCO        109 

former  by  the  North  Africa  Mission,  and  five 
American  lady  workers  of  the  Gospel  Union  Mis- 
sion do  good  house  to  house  service  in  that  little 
town.  Its  inhabitants  are  unusually  genial  and  re- 
ceptive ;  these  are  days  of  seed-sowing,  for  the  har- 
vest is  not  yet.  Women's  and  girls'  classes  are  also 
held,  and  prayers  are  asked  for  a  few  already  deeply 
interested.  Some  very  happy  days  have  I  spent 
working  among  Moorish  friends  there. 

House  to  house  visitation  is  essentially  for  the 
women.  They  are  always  "at  home,"  and  to  them 
we  definitely  go  since  they  can  so  seldom  come  to  us. 
Classes  have  already  been  a  prominent  feature  of  the 
work  in  Fez,  and  gather  larger  numbers  than  is 
usual  in  the  other  towns.  This  city  of  some  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  inhabitants  has  been  the 
residence  of  the  Sultan  and  his  court  for  the  past 
four  years.  It  is  consequently  very  full  and  affords 
splendid  opportunities,  having  been  so  freely  opened 
up  by  the  large  medical  mission  established  there. 

Early  in  the  year,  a  mother  and  her  daughter  said 
to  me,  "We  have  been  loved  into  HEAVEN,  we  have 
seen  the  love  of  Jesus  in  care  and  healing  during  our 
sickness,  we  take  Him  now  as  Savior  for  our  souls." 
These  are  living  consistently  for  Him  now.  Two 
years  ago  a  prominent  theological  professor  asked 
me  in  the  street  for  medicine.  I  directed  him  to  the 
medical  mission.  To  the  surprise  of  all  he  came 
often,  listened  quietly  from  the  first,  and,  ere  long, 
became  a  decided  Christian.  His  wife,  a  noble 


no         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

woman  (sherifa),  is  now  reading  the  Gospel  with 
him,  saying,  "Yes,  I  believe  that  which  is  written, 
but,  oh !  I  do  want  to  remain  a  sherifa!"  Not  yet 
can  she  count  all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of 
the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus,  her  Lord. 

In  an  inland  town  in  Morocco,  where  a  number  of 
women  had  professed  faith  in  Christ,  the  question  of 
baptism  arose ;  two  were  wishing  for  it.  How  could 
they  brave  its  publicity?  One  woman  had  been 
baptized  privately  in  Tangier,  few,  even  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, knew  beforehand  it  was  to  take  place — so 
bitterly  were  her  relatives  opposed  to  the  Gospel. 
The  rite  had  not  been  publicly  received  by  any 
Moorish  woman  heretofore.  After  some  eighteen 
months  of  constant  teaching  in  preparation,  these 
two  sisters  were  ready  to  brave  all  danger  and  oppo- 
sition, and  despite  all  efforts  to  foil  their  purpose, 
passed  through  the  waters  of  baptism  unveiled  be- 
fore the  assembled  native  church  and  foreign 
missionaries,  and  that  as  bravely  and  modestly  as 
any  Englishwoman  would  have  done.  This  was  a 
terrible  blow  to  the  devil.  He  had  fought  courage- 
ously to  avert  the  calamity  to  his  kingdom,  but  God 
heard  continued  and  earnest  prayer  that  a  first  pub- 
lic stand  be  thus  taken  for  Him.  The  blow  has 
fallen  upon  the  powers  of  darkness  and  this  great 
triumph  in  women's  work  been  gained  for  Him. 
They  now  "break  the  bread  and  drink  the  wine" 
with  their  converted  husbands  and  friends  "until 
He  come."  One  of  them  received  such  a  spiritual 


LIGHT  IN  DARKEST  MOROCCO       in 

impetus  after  the  step  as  to  make  us  fearful  lest  her 
boldness  endanger  life.  She  brought  a  formerly 
bigoted  relative  and  said,  "Teach  her,  pray  with  her, 
she  is  near  the  Kingdom!"  And  so  it  proved,  for 
that  day  she  "entered  in."  When  reading  the  col- 
loquial Gospel  of  Luke  in  one  of  the  highest  Gov- 
ernment houses,  the  remark  was  made  to  me,  "Why, 
this  is  the  book  and  this  the  story  we  heard  from 
Miss  McArthur  in  Morocco  city !" 

Some  of  our  native  colporteurs  work  with  our 
Scotch  brethren  and  thus  is  Christian  unity  ce- 
mented. Dr.  Kerr  and  his  fellow-workers  have  a 
strong  medical  mission  in  Rakat  and  a  similar  one 
was  carried  on  by  the  North  African  Mission  in 
Casablanca,  until  the  recent  death  of  Dr.  Grieve. 

Tetuan  has  long  maintained  its  vigorous  out- 
patient dispensary,  successful  visiting  in  the  homes, 
and  numerous  classes.  Mention  should  certainly  be 
made  of  the  great  impetus  given  to  labors  among 
Moorish  women  by  the  publication  of  a  Moroccan 
colloquial  version  of  Luke.  With  so  few  female 
readers,  and  the  majority  of  men  even,  insufficiently 
educated  to  understand  the  magnificent  classical 
translation  into  Arabic,  one  within  the  grasp  of 
every  man,  woman,  and  child  was  urgently  needed. 

Our  American  brethren  have  hitherto  published 
only  the  Gospel  of  Luke,  which  has  been  so  well 
received,  but  they  hope  soon  to  have  in  print  other 
portions,  which  are  eagerly  looked  for. 

You  say,  "We  have  heard  only  of  encouraging 


112         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

cases,  bright  prospects,  and  ingathering ;  we  thought 
it  was  not  so  in  Moslem  lands  and  especially  among 
their  women."  Perhaps  it  has  not  been,  and  even 
now,  only  the  beginning  of  early  harvest  is  in  the 
reaping.  Thank  God,  a  grand  wheat-garnering 
has  yet  to  follow,  and  those  who  have  labored  long- 
est and  seen  least  fruit  will  yet  divide  the  spoil. 
Undoubtedly  there  are  rejecters  of  the  Cross  of 
Christ,  and  His  bitterest  enemies  are  surely  under 
the  Crescent's  sway.  At  the  same  time  there  is  tre- 
mendous encouragement  for  hearts  and  laborers 
who  can  "afford  to  wait"  and  have  learned  to  pray. 

Only  twice  in  our  vast  crowded  city  (though 
making  from  six  to  eight  hundred  visits  in  the 
homes  yearly)  have  I  been  refused  liberty  to  speak 
for  Jesus  and  NEVER  been  denied  admittance.  There 
are  six  sisters  in  Fez  doing  this  work  from  house 
to  house,  but  HUNDREDS  of  homes  await  us  which 
we  are  utterly  unable  to  enter.  ONE  life  is  so  short 
where  the  need  is  so  great,  and  open  doors  are  on 
every  hand.  Most  of  our  fellow  missionaries  in 
other  stations  would  plead  in  the  same  words. 
Doors,  doors,  but  how  can  we  enter  them?  At 
present  the  people  inland  are  hardly  prepared  for 
the  qualified  lady  doctor.  In  the  bulk  of  instances 
"where  her  skill  is  most  urgently  needed,  she  would 
be  refused.  Miss  Breeze,  in  Tangier,  has  patiently 
labored  and  trained  the  women  to  trust  her  and  sub- 
mit to  the  necessary  operations. 

Away  from  the  coast  a  similar  patience  and  train- 


LIGHT  IN  DARKEST  MOROCCO       113 

ing  are  necessary  to  prepare  the  female  sex  for  her 
valuable  assistance.  At  present  the  trained  nurse  has 
the  fullest  scope,  and  the  limits  of  her  powers  repre- 
sent the  willingness  of  the  people  for  medical  work. 
Sad,  indeed,  are  those  instances  wherein  a  little  as- 
sistance would  undoubtedly  save  life,  but  is  refused 
point-blank  on  the  plea  "if  the  patient  subsequently 
died  the  missionary  would  be  accused  of  murder." 
At  present,  no  explanation,  no  persuasion,  can 
change  the  fiat.  Moorish  law,  like  that  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians,  "altereth  not."  They  are, 
however,  very  susceptible  to  the  influence  of  drugs, 
and  the  simplest  remedies  often  work  cures  which 
by  them  are  regarded  as  miracles,  and  faith  in  the 
"Tabeeba"  is  proportionately  increased. 

Colloquial  hymns  are  much  valued  and  a  standard 
hymn-book  would  be  a  great  boon.  I  have  taken  a 
small  American  organ  with  me  and  sung  and  ex- 
plained the  Gospel  in  bigoted  and  wealthy  homes, 
where  reading  it  would  not  have  been  possible.  In 
two  instances,  I  took  a  magic-lantern  with  me,  from 
the  slides  of  which  plain  teaching  was  an  easy  task. 
Once  it  was  a  wedding  festival  and  friends  had  gath- 
ered to  the  feast.  Our  hostess  had  lived  some  years 
in  England  with  her  merchant  husband,  but  a  knowl- 
edge of  English  life,  or  even  ability  to  speak  its 
language,  by  no  means  predisposes  to  the  reception 
of  the  Truth.  It  certainly  was  not  so  in  the  pres- 
ent instance.  A  few  months  ago  she  said  to  a 
fellow  missionary,  "I  know  the  right  is  with  you. 


ii4         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

I  well  know  what  I  ought  to  do — leave  Mohammed 
and  accept  Jesus — but  this  would  mean  leaving  my 
husband  and  children — turned  out  of  home  and 
robbed  of  all!  I  cannot  do  it."  One  sad  instance 
stands  for  many :  a  rejected  Gospel ! 

I  once  attended  a  wealthy  and  influential  sherifa 
dying  of  tuberculosis.  No  English  consumptive 
clings  to  life  more  tenaciously  than  she  did.  Every- 
thing was  at  my  disposal  and  courtesy  lavished  until 
she  found  there  was  no  hope  for  her  life.  Then  she 
bitterly  turned  from  any  word  of  a  Life  to  come  and 
flung  herself  hopelessly  upon  her  charm-writers  and 
native  crudities  until  past  speaking.  Her  husband 
took  a  Gospel,  and  I  heard,  sat  up  into  the  night  and 
studied  its  contents.  We  followed  the  volume  with 
prayer.  To-day  news  reaches  me  from  the  field 
that  he  has  died  of  typhoid  fever.  Oh !  to  know  he 
accepted  its  truths! 

Sometimes  those  cases  where  I  have  given  long- 
est and  most  frequent  medical  attention,  have  finally 
been  least  responsive  to  the  story  of  the  Cross.  In 
other  instances  a  single  visit  awakens  interest  and 
the  soul  goes  on  into  full  light  and  liberty.  Several 
homes  I  have  closely  visited  and  watched,  hoping  to 
find  an  entrance  for  Christ ;  but  not  until  some  seri- 
ous illness  or  other  calamity  comes  are  its  occupants 
sufficiently  friendly  to  hear  of  God's  love  in  Christ. 
The  lady  worker  and  constant  visitor  in  her  long 
white  native  garment  (silham),  with  veiled  face 
is  much  safer,  humanly  speaking,  and  usually  more 


LIGHT  IN  DARKEST  MOROCCO        US 

acceptable  than  the  foreign  worker  in  European 
dress.  I  have  even  been  asked  to  climb  over  the 
roofs  into  a  house  within  some  sacred  precincts, 
where  infidel  foot  may  not  be  known  to  tread,  and 
one  patient  was  always  reached  through  the  stable 
door,  as  the  main  entrance  was  too  near  a  so-called 
saint's  place.  Again  I  was  asked  to  see  and  treat  a 
poor  sufferer,  very  ill,  in  the  open  street,  to  avoid 
standing  on  their  holy  ground  and  defiling  the  spot. 

Probably  all  I  have  written  is  equally  true  of  any 
Moslem  land.  The  religion  of  Islam  knows  no 
progress  and  has  within  itself  only  the  elements  of 
decay.  Means  for  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel 
will  scarcely  vary.  The  harem  always  depends 
upon  the  consecrated  and  tactful  sister  to  reach  its 
inmates  from  without.  These  thousands  of  homes 
can  only  be  entered  by  the  multiplication  of  the  indi- 
vidual worker  a  hundredfold. 

Now  is  Morocco's  day.  A  few  days  later  and  her 
opportunity  will  have  passed  by  forever.  Once 
broken  up,  or  Europeanized  in  any  way,  and  civi- 
lized nations  will,  perhaps,  "fear  the  propaganda  of 
the  Cross  and  the  distribution  of  the  Bible  lest 
fanatics  be  aroused,  holy  war  proclaimed  and  blood- 
shed ensue."  At  least  thus  they  said  when  Khar- 
toum was  opened  to  the  merchant,  and  similarly  have 
thought  other  nations  in  their  respective  colonies. 
They  have  not  yet  learned  that  the  converted  Mos- 
lem is  the  only  one  who  can  be  trusted,  and  the  men 
will  largely  be  influenced  by  what  their  mothers  and 


u6 

wives  are  in  the  home.  They  know  not  as  we  do, 
that,  in  time  of  war,  unrest,  and  danger,  valuables 
and  money  are  brought  to  the  missionary  for  keep- 
ing, and  the  place  of  safety  to  the  native  mind  is 
the  mission  house.  To  meet,  in  any  degree,  exist- 
ing needs,  or  use  present  opportunities  for  freely 
distributing  and  reading  the  Gospel,  teaching  its 
precepts  and  hastening  Christ's  Kingdom  in  "Sun- 
set land,"  we  must  strongly  re-enforce  every  station. 
Increase  the  number  of  missionaries  working  under 
each  mission.  Send  forth  women  who  have  learned 
how  to  pray  in  the  home  lands  to  seek  these  poor 
sheep  and  gather  them  into  the  one  fold  and  unto 
the  one  Shepherd.  The  commencement  of  this 
year's  unprecedented  blessing  among  women  dates 
back  primarily  and  supremely  to  the  increased  spirit 
of  prayer.  At  first  even  all  the  foreign  workers 
were  hardly  alive  to  this,  but  persistent  prayer  won 
them  one  by  one.  Then  followed  the  united  re- 
quests for  individual  souls,  and  these  too  were 
granted.  The  Holy  Spirit  brought  us  in  contact 
with  those  hearts  within  which  He  was  already 
working,  or  preparing  to  work,  and  as  a  result  the 
Father  was  glorified  in  the  Son — souls  were  saved, 
and  not  alone  among  the  angels,  but  even  upon  earth 
and  amid  the  Church  militant. 

These  babes  in  Christ  need  daily  tending  and 
teaching  as  little  children.  The  work  in  the  hands 
of  those  workers  already  in  the  field  can  scarcely 
allow  any  addition,  and  yet  we  PRAYED  for  these ;  and 


LIGHT  IN  DARKEST  MOROCCO       117 

now  who  shall  feed  them?  Not  only  so,  some  are 
still  halting  between  two  opinions,  reading  the 
Word  and  needing  the  loving  hand  to  lead  them 
gently  over  the  line;  but  this  individual  care  is  a 
big  task  where  women's  medical  mornings  each 
already  bring  one  hundred  and  twenty  to  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  patients.  Surely  we  shall  unite  in 
the  prayer  to  the  Lord  of  the  Harvest,  that  He  send 
forth  laborers  into  His  harvest  and  to  some — as  we 
pray — He  will  answer,  "Go  ye !" 


VIII 


THE  form  of  Islam  seen  in  the  large  centres  of 
population  in  the  Hausa  States  is  that  of  a  virile, 
aggressive  force,  in  no  sense  effete  or  corrupted  by 
the  surrounding  paganism.  It  has  had  no  rival  sys- 
tems such  as  Hinduism  or  Buddhism  to  compete 
with,  and  until  now  has  not  come  into  conflict  with 
Christianity.  The  distinctive  characteristics  of  the 
African  have,  however,  tended  to  increase  in  it  sen- 
sualism and  a  laxity  of  morals,  and  this  has  stamped, 
to  a  large  extent,  the  attitude  toward  women  and  the 
character  of  women  as  developed  under  its  system. 

Social  and  moral  evils,  which  may  have  a  thin 
cloak  thrown  over  them  in  the  East  as  well  as  in 
those  lands  of  Islam  in  the  North  of  Africa,  are 
open,  and  boldly  uncovered,  in  the  Hausa  States. 

Most  of  what  is  written  in  this  chapter  refers  to 
the  Hausa  women,  who  form  by  far  the  greatest 
number  in  this  country;  but  it  is  necessary  to  write 
a  few  lines  first  about  the  Fulani  women,  who  are 
aliens  and  of  a  different  social,  political,  and  racial 
type. 

It  is  now  generally  acknowledged  that  these  people 

118 


IN   THE    CENTRAL    SOUDAN     119 

— Fulanis — originally  came  from  Asia,  or  at  least 
are  Semitic. 

They  are  the  rulers  of  all  this  great  empire,  and 
have  for  a  hundred  years  exercised  a  tyrannical  rule 
over  the  Hausas  and  the  pagan  peoples  whom  they 
had  succeeded  in  enslaving  before  British  rule  in 
turn  overcame  them.  The  Fulani  women  are  many 
of  them  olive-colored;  some  are  beautiful  and  all 
have  the  small  features,  thin  lips,  straight  nose,  and 
long  straight  hair  associated  with  the  Asiatic.  The 
Fulani  rulers,  following  the  Eastern  fashion,  have 
large  harems  and  keep  their  women  very  secluded. 

The  late  Emir  of  Zaria  was  terribly  severe  to  all 
his  people,  and  cruel  to  a  degree  with  any  of  his 
wives  who  transgressed  in  any  way  or  were  sus- 
pected of  unfaithfulness.  In  one  instance  in  which 
a  female  slave  had  assisted  one  of  his  wives  to 
escape,  both  being  detected,  the  wife  was  immedi- 
ately decapitated  and  the  slave  given  the  head  in  an 
open  calabash  and  ordered  by  the  Emir  to  fan  the 
flies  off  it  until  next  night! 

I  have  been  admitted  into  the  home  of  one  such 
family,  the  home  of  one  of  the  highest  born  of  all 
the  Fulani  chiefs,  saw  two  of  the  wives  and  bowed 
to  them,  but  the  two  little  girls  of  seven  and  eight 
years  came  to  call  on  me.  On  the  whole  I  was  struck 
with  the  cheerful  appearance  of  the  wife  and  the 
sweetness  of  the  two  little  girls,  but  the  husband 
was  a  particularly  nice  man,  I  should  think  a  kind 
husband  and  I  know  a  kind  father. 


120         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

I  knew  one  other  Fulani  lady  long  after  the  death 
of  her  husband,  she  being  about  sixty-five  years  of 
age,  and  a  very  nice  woman  in  many  ways.  She 
told  me  that  her  husband,  although  of  good  family, 
had  married  only  her  and  that  they  had  been  happily 
married  for  over  thirty  years  when  he  died,  and  she 
had  remained  a  widow.  I  fear,  however,  these  are 
exceptional  cases  and  that  the  ordinary  life  of  the 
women  of  the  ruling  Fulani  class  is  a  hard  one. 

I  was  once  sitting  in  my  compound  when  a  well- 
covered  and  veiled  woman  came  to  see  me,  with  the 
excuse  that  she  wanted  medicine.  After  some  con- 
versation I  found  it  was  trouble  that  had  brought 
her.  She  had  been  for  some  years  loved  by  her  hus- 
band but  had  had  no  children;  so  her  husband  had 
married  another  wife  and  disliked  her  now,  and  she 
wanted  medicine  from  me  to  make  him  love  her 
again!  She  begged  me  never  to  mention  that  she 
had  come  to  me,  saying  that  her  husband  would  cer- 
tainly beat  her  nearly  to  death  if  he  knew  that  she 
had  come  out,  and  much  more  so  if  he  knew  she  had 
come  to  me. 

The  ease  with  which  all  Hausa  women,  but 
specially  those  of  the  middle  and  lower  classes,  can 
obtain  divorce  for  almost  any  reason;  also  the  fre- 
quency with  which  they  can  obtain  redress  for 
cruelty  from  their  husbands  in  the  native  courts, 
gives  them  power  and  a  position  in  the  community 
not  to  be  despised.  A  man,  for  instance,  in  order 
to  get  a  girl  of  sixteen  years  in  marriage  will  pay 


IN   THE    CENTRAL    SOUDAN     121 

her  parents  a  sum  of  perhaps  ten  or  twelve  pounds. 
If  at  any  future  time  she  desires  to  leave  him  and 
marry  another  man,  she  can  do  so  by  swearing  be- 
fore the  native  courts  that  they  have  quarrelled  and 
that  she  no  longer  wishes  to  live  with  him.  But  if 
that  is  all  she  merely  gets  a  paper  of  divorce  and 
either  herself  or  her  next  husband  has  to  refund  to 
the  aggrieved  former  husband  the  sum  originally 
paid  for  her.  If,  however,  she  can  prove  violence 
or  injury  from  her  husband  she  has  not  to  pay  him 
anything,  but  may  even  in  some  cases  get  damages. 

A  girl  is  usually  given  the  option  of  refusing  the 
man  whom  her  parents  have  arranged  for  her  to 
marry.  This  is  not  often  done,  but  I  have  known  of 
some  cases  in  which  the  girl  has  availed  herself  of 
the  privilege,  and  stated  that  she  prefers  some  one 
else,  in  which  case  the  engagement  is  broken  and  the 
new  marriage  arranged  at  once  with  the  man  of  her 
choice. 

In  the  villages,  and  among  the  lower  classes  in  the 
cities,  girls  are  not  usually  married  until  they  are 
about  sixteen.  Frequently,  however,  among  the 
higher  and  wealthier  classes  the  engagement  is  made 
by  the  parents  when  she  is  much  younger,  perhaps 
eleven  or  twelve,  and  she  is  after  that  confined  with 
some  strictness  to  the  house  or  else  carefully 
watched. 

There  is  a  very  vicious  and  terribly  degrading 
habit  amongst  the  Hausas,  which  is  known  as 
"Tsaranchi."  One  cannot  give  in  a  word  an  Eng- 


122         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

lish  equivalent  and  one  does  not  desire  to  describe 
its  meaning.  It  has  the  effect  of  demoralizing  most 
of  the  young  girls  and  making  it  almost  certain 
that  very  few  girls  of  even  eleven  or  twelve  have 
retained  any  feelings  of  decency  and  virtue. 

In  this  the  girls  are  deliberately  the  tempters,  and 
many  boys  and  young  men  are  led  into  sin  who 
would  not  have  sought  it.  Here  one  must  not  blame 
the  women  or  the  girls,  for  the  original  sin  is  with 
the  men,  who,  through  the  terribly  degrading  sys- 
tem of  polygamy  and  slave  concubinage,  have  intro- 
duced since  centuries  that  which  destroys  the  purity 
of  the  home,  and  makes  it  impossible  for  the  children 
to  grow  up  clean-minded.  It  is  a  sad  fact  that  the 
evil  effect  of  this  seems  to  have  acted  more  on  the 
women  and  children  than  on  the  men. 

One  feels  sorely  for  the  boys  brought  up  in  this 
land  without  a  glimpse  of  purity  in  true  home  life; 
with  never  a  notion  of  a  woman  being  the  most  holy 
and  chaste  and  beautiful  of  all  God's  creation,  and 
never  seeing  even  the  beauty  of  girlhood  purity. 

One  is  glad  to  see  that  among  many  of  the  men 
there  is  a  growing  feeling  that  they  have  lost  much 
in  this  way;  and  often  in  talking  to  men  on  the 
subject  of  women  and  their  naturally  depraved  con- 
dition, I  have  shown  them  how,  where  women  are 
given  the  place  God  meant  them  to  have  in  the  home 
and  in  the  social  and  religious  life  of  a  people,  their 
character  is  always  the  most  regenerating  thing  in 
the  life  of  a  nation,  and  that  it  is  useless  for  them 


IN   THE    CENTRAL    SOUDAN     123 

to  wish  their  women  to  be  different  when  they  do 
everything  to  prevent  the  possibility.  With  the  boys 
in  my  own  compound  and  under  my  own  care  I  am 
bound  to  forbid  all  intercourse  with  girls  because  of 
their  evil  minds  and  influence.  Of  course  such  a 
thing  is  fearfully  unnatural  and  cuts  off  from  a 
boy's  life  all  those  influences  which  we  in  Christian 
lands  consider  so  much  tend  to  strengthen  and 
deepen  and  soften  his  character. 

It  is  easy  to  see  from  the  above  the  reason  why 
amongst  those  who  are  careful  to  preserve  a  sem- 
blance of  chastity,  the  girls  are  carefully  secluded 
from  a  tender  age  and  not  allowed  outside  their 
compounds  except  under  exceptional  circumstances, 
until  the  time  that  they  are  about  to  be  taken  to 
the  house  of  the  man  to  whom  they  have  been  be- 
trothed. 

This  preservation  of  virtue  by  force,  points  to  the 
fact  that  there  is  no  public  opinion ;  no  love  of  purity 
for  its  own  sake ;  no  real  and  vital  principle  in  Islam 
which  tends  to  preserve  and  build  up  purity. 

A  mere  lad,  the  viciousness  of  whose  first  wife 
had  led  him  quickly  to  take  a  second,  said  to  me 
when  protested  with  for  doing  it,  "Our  women  are 
not  like  yours,  and  you  can  never  tell  what  it  all 
means  to  us.  Even  if  we  wanted  to  be  good  they 
would  hinder  us." 

The  existence  of  a  large  class  of  pagan  slave  girls, 
who  have  been  caught  and  brought  from  their  own 
homes  and  carried  into  the  Hausa  country  to  become 


124         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

members  of  the  harem  of  some  of  the  Hausas,  also 
complicates  and  intensifies  the  evil;  for  this  mixture 
only  tends  to  lower  the  standards  and  make  the 
facilities  for  sin  tenfold  easier. 

It  is  not  true  in  the  Central  Soudan,  as  is  so  often 
stated,  that  polygamy  tends  to  diminish  the  greater 
evils  of  common  adultery  and  prostitution.  These 
are  very  frequent,  and  it  is  perfectly  true  what  man 
after  man  has  sadly  told  me,  that  no  one  trusts  even 
his  own  brother  in  the  case  of  married  relationships. 
I  am  bound  to  acknowledge,  however,  in  honesty, 
that  these  evils  are  intensified  in  the  cantonments 
with  their  large  number  of  native  soldiers  of  loose 
character,  and  some  even  of  one's  own  immoral 
countrymen. 

I  have  seen  very  little  systematic  cruelty  towards 
women  or  children,  except  of  course  in  the  slave- 
raiding  and  slave  markets  which  are  now  happily 
abolished.  Women  are  able  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves and  certainly  do,  so  far  as  I  have  seen. 

The  knowledge  that  a  wife  may  leave  at  will,  that 
less  labor  can  be  got  out  of  a  cruelly-treated  slave 
wife,  and  that  little  girls  can  leave  home  and  find  a 
place  elsewhere,  all  have  tended  to  make  women's 
lives  freer,  and  to  some  extent  less  hard  in  the 
Central  Soudan  than  in  North  Africa. 

On  the  other  hand,  one  is  struck  with  the  apparent 
lack  of  love,  and  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  a 
woman  is  not  in  any  sense,  to  a  man  of  the  Hausa 
race,  more  than  a  necessary  convenience;  a  woman 


IN   THE    CENTRAL    SOUDAN     125 

to  look  after  his  house,  have  children,  and  prepare 
his  meals.  In  old  age  she  is  often  abandoned  or 
driven  away,  or  becomes  a  mere  drudge.  This  is 
often  the  case  also  with  a  man,  if  not  wealthy;  when 
old  his  wives  will  leave  him,  and  many  a  case  I  have 
seen  of  such  desolation.  Of  real  love  which  triumphs 
over  circumstances  of  poverty  and  sickness  there  is 
but  little;  women  will  leave  their  husbands  when 
through  misfortune  they  have  lost  their  wealth, 
and  go  and  marry  another,  returning  later  when 
fortune  has  again  favored  the  original  husband  and 
frowned  on  the  later  one. 

I  met  one  beautiful  exception  to  this.  One  of  the 
most  beautiful  girls  I  have  seen  in  the  Hausa  states, 
with  a  really  good  face  and  one  which  anywhere 
would  have  been  pronounced  pretty,  brought  her 
blind  husband  to  me.  When  married  he  had  been 
really  good  to  her,  and  after  one  year  had  lost  his 
sight.  For  four  years  she  had  stuck  to  him  and 
tended  him  and  really  loved  him,  taking  him  from 
one  native  doctor  to  another,  and  at  last  to  me.  It 
was  touching  to  see  her  gentleness  to  him  and  the 
evident  trust  of  each  in  the  other.  I  have  never  seen 
such  another  in  the  Hausa  country.  Yet  what  pos- 
sibilities of  the  future! 

Very  few  girls  attain  the  most  elementary  stand- 
ard of  education.  But  some  few  do  and  every 
facility  is  provided  for  those  who  can  and  will  go 
farther,  and  I  have  known  girls,  mostly  those  whose 
fathers  were  mallams,  who  learned  to  read  and  write 


126         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

the  Koran  well,  and  who  were  considered  quite  pro- 
ficient; and  at  least  one  case  I  know  of  a  woman 
who,  because  of  her  wisdom  and  education,  was  en- 
trusted with  the  rule  of  two  or  three  cities  in  her 
father's  Emirate. 

The  chief  occupations  of  women  are  the  grinding 
of  corn  and  the  preparation  of  food  for  the  family, 
the  care  of  their  babies,  who  are  slung  on  their  backs, 
the  carrying  of  water  from  the  well  or  brook,  and, 
to  some  extent  in  the  villages,  agriculture,  though 
with  the  exception  of  the  poor  slaves  it  is  rare  to  see 
women  overworked  in  the  fields. 

They  are  great  traders  also,  and  if  not  young  or 
too  attractive  looking,  they  are  allowed  to  take  their 
flour,  their  sweetmeats,  etc.,  to  the  markets  and 
trade.  Then  again  when  the  season  for  all  agricul- 
tural work  is  at  an  end,  and  their  husbands  and 
brothers  start  for  the  west  and  the  coast  places,  for 
the  long  wearisome  journey  which  takes  them  to  the 
places  where  they  sell  their  rubber,  nitre,  and  other 
goods,  and  bring  back  salt,  woollen  and  cotton  goods, 
the  women  go  with  them,  and  it  is  a  most  pretty 
and  interesting  sight  to  see  the  long  row  of  these 
young  women,  in  single  file,  neatly  and  modestly 
dressed,  with  white  overalls  and  a  load  of  calabashes 
and  cooking  utensils  neatly  packed  and  carried  on 
their  heads.  They  often  sing  as  they  march,  and 
coming  in  at  the  end  of  the  day's  journey,  light  the 
fires  and  prepare  the  meal  for  themselves  and  their 
male  relatives,  while  the  latter  go  and  gather  the 


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IN    THE    CENTRAL    SOUDAN     127 

sticks  and  grass  to  make  a  temporary  shelter  for  the 
night. 

They  are  tidy,  industrious,  and  lively,  and,  to  any 
one  who  did  not  understand  their  language,  these 
women  would  give  the  impression  of  a  charming 
picture  and  of  many  things  good  and  true.  But  to 
one  who  could  hear  the  conversation,  as  I  often  have, 
the  secret  of  the  utter  depravity  of  all  the  people  is 
soon  learned,  and  one  sees  how  it  is  that  none  grow 
up  with  any  idea  of  purity.  The  minds  of  even 
young  children  are  vitiated  from  the  earliest  age. 

I  have  found  many  very  "religious"  women.  It 
must,  however,  not  be  forgotten  that  the  religion  of 
Islam  is  totally  divorced  from  the  practice  of  all 
morals.  Women  in  some  numbers  attend  the  weekly 
midday  service  in  the  mosques,  sitting  apart  and 
worshipping. 

One  very  handsome  woman  whom  I  knew  had  as 
a  little  child  been  enslaved,  and  later  married  to  the 
Emir  of  Zaria,  and  had  been  the  mother  or  step- 
mother of  many  of  the  Zaria  princes.  She  was  a 
very  religious  woman,  was  allowed  a  fair  amount  of 
liberty,  and  was  much  respected.  She  not  infre- 
quently attended  the  services  and  was  much  inter- 
ested. But  it  is  certain  that,  with  the  exception  of 
the  use  of  a  certain  number  of  pious  expressions, 
religion  has  little  hold  over  the  Hausa  women,  and 
they  can  in  no  sense  be  considered  to  share  in  the 
devotions  of  the  men,  or  to  be  companions  with  the 
men  in  those  things  which  are  the  deepest  part  of 


128         OUR   MOSLEM   SISTERS 

human  nature.  Hence  with  Christians  there  is  the 
learning  of  a  new  relationship  altogether,  when  the 
man  begins  to  feel  that  his  wife  must  be  his  com- 
panion and  helpmeet  in  things  pertaining  to  all  his 
life  and  soul  and  spirit. 

Amongst  the  very  lowest  classes,  with  whom 
there  are  less  objections  to  coming  into  contact  with 
men,  and  especially  white  men,  and  who  in  their 
suffering  have  allowed  us  to  minister  to  them,  I  have 
been  able  to  get  a  glimpse  into  the  terrible  suffer- 
ings of  the  poor  women  of  all  the  other  classes.  In 
their  hours  of  agony  and  suffering  they  can  get  no 
alleviation,  no  nursing  or  skill  to  shorten  the  hours 
of  weary  pain,  and  in  large  numbers  they  die  ter- 
rible deaths  for  the  lack  of  that  surgical  help  we 
could  so  easily  render  them.  I  was  able  once  to 
visit  a  woman  who  seemed  to  be  dying.  She  was  in 
a  terrible  condition;  the  complete  delivery  of  her 
child  could  not  be  effected,  and  for  two  days  she 
had  been  in  a  shocking  state.  In  their  despair  her 
people  asked  me  to  come,  and  within  three  hours, 
by  surgical  knowledge,  we  were  able  to  put  her 
right,  and  finally  get  her  to  sleep  and  complete  her 
cure.  But  we  were  told  that  many,  many  died  in 
the  condition  in  which  we  found  her,  and  that  there 
was  never  any  thought  of  calling  for  help.  Many  a 
man  who  seemed  fairly  intelligent,  and  to  whom  I 
have  talked  almost  with  indignation  of  such  things, 
has  answered  me :  "We  do  not  know  what  to  do;  our 
women  cannot  help  these  cases,  for  they  have  no 


IN   THE    CENTRAL    SOUDAN     129 

skill,  and  we  would  any  of  us  rather  let  them  die  than 
call  a  man  in  to  help."  And  so  they  do  die.  They 
will  not  yet  trust  us,  although  they  fully  realize  that 
we  are  different  from  their  own  religious  leaders. 
Whole  realms  of  thought  have  yet  to  be  broken 
through,  whole  tracts  of  life  principles  and  per- 
verted ideas  have  to  be  destroyed,  before  it  will  be 
possible  for  the  many  poor  sufferers  in  this  land  to 
get  what  the  love  of  Christ  has  brought  within  their 
grasp,  but  which  they  are  afraid  as  yet  to  take. 

I  have  tried  to  show  that  there  is  a  bright  as  well 
as  a  sombre  side  to  this  picture;  that  where  there  is 
restraint  there  is  often  some  kindness;  that  with 
ignorance  there  is  often  a  desire  and  a  yearning  after 
better  things,  and  a  dull  feeling  that  what  is,  is  not 
best. 

Nothing  but  a  radical  change  in  the  very  funda- 
mental ideas  of  woman,  even  by  woman  herself,  can 
bring  about  the  regeneration  of  this  land.  Only 
the  restoration  of  woman  to  the  place  gained  for 
her  by  Christ,  and  snatched  from  her  again  by  the 
prophet  of  Islam,  can  bring  true  holiness  and  life 
into  the  homes  of  Hausa,  and  bring  a  new  hope  and 
reality  into  the  lives  of  the  men. 

The  knowledge  and  worship  of  Christ  are  begin- 
ning to  do  this,  and  in  one  or  two  homes  in  North 
Nigeria  already  men,  who  previously  thought 
woman  inferior  human  beings  or  superior  cattle,  and 
who  would  have  looked  upon  it  as  madness  to  sug- 
gest that  a  woman  should  be  considered  the  helpmeet 


130         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

of  the  man  in  all  that  pertains  to  this  life  God  ward 
and  manward,  are  restoring  to  their  wives  and  moth- 
ers and  sisters  that  dignity.  How  happy  will  be  the 
result  when  this  spirit  has  spread  and  all  the  land  has 
begun  to  feel  the  influence  of  good  and  holy  women 
in  the  home,  the  market,  the  school,  and  the  church. 


IX 
A   STORY   FROM  EAST  AFRICA 

MOMBASA,  though  a  Mohammedan  town,  is  per- 
haps scarcely  a  typical  one,  as  of  late  years  it  has 
become  decidedly  cosmopolitan,  still  in  what  is  called 
the  "Old  Town"  Mohammedanism  with  all  its  at- 
tendant ignorance  and  bigotry  prevails. 

There  are  women  in  this  part  of  the  mission-field 
with  whom  we  have  talked  and  prayed  in  past  years, 
who  seem  further  off  from  the  Truth  and  Light 
than  they  were  even  in  those  early  years  of  work 
amongst  them. 

These  are  the  words  of  a  young  girl  who,  we 
know,  was  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  Gospel: 
"Oh,  Bibi,  if  I  confess  Christ  openly  I  shall  be 
turned  out  of  my  home,  I  shall  have  neither  food 
nor  clothing,  and  [with  a  shudder]  perhaps  they  will 
kill  me."  We  knew  this  was  only  too  true. 

She  was  a  beautiful  girl  with  sweet,  gentle  man- 
ners, living  in  those  days  with  her  sister  in  a  dark, 
ill-ventilated  room  which  opened  on  to  a  small  court- 
yard where  all  the  rubbish  of  the  house  seemed  to 
be  thrown,  and  where  goats,  hens,  and  miserable- 
looking  cats  seemed  thoroughly  at  home  amongst 
the  refuse. 

131 


132         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

Yet,  in  spite  of  these  surroundings  and  in  spite 
of  her  knowledge  of  all  manner  of  evil  (alas!  how 
early  these  children  learn  things  which  we  would 
think  impossible  to  teach  a  little  child),  in  spite  of 
all  this  she  was  pure  and  good.  Now  she  seems  to 
have  no  desire  at  all  to  hear  or  read  the  Gospel. 
When  we  do  see  her,  her  manner  is  always  flippant 
and  worldly.  We  don't  want  to  give  her  up,  we 
keep  on  praying  for  her,  but  there  have  been  so  many 
hardening  influences  since  those  early  days,  and  she 
never  took  the  definite  step  of  openly  confessing 
Christ.  She  was  soon  married  to  a  man  much  older 
than  herself  who  already  had  a  wife;  probably  more 
than  one.  We  suppose  he  was  a  higher  bidder ! 

She  had  one  little  baby  that  soon  pined  away  and 
died.  How  can  women,  brought  up  as  she  was,  have 
healthy  children?  Amongst  all  the  Mohammedan 
women  I  have  visited  here  I  have  never  known 
one  to  have  more  than  two  children.  The  majority 
have  no  living  child. 

I  believe  the  husband  was  kind  to  her,  but  he  did 
not  live  long,  and  very  soon  she  was  married  again. 
If  she  bears  no  children  he  will  probably  tire  of 
her  and  leave  her.  I  have  been  told  by  one  of 
the  women  that  if  a  wife  does  not  cook  his  food 
properly  he  may  get  a  divorce.  One  old  woman  I 
saw  to-day  told  me  that  her  daughter  is  now  married 
to  her  third  husband;  the  other  two  left  her  for  some 
trivial  reason.  When  I  asked,  "What  will  become 
of  her  when  she  is  old  and  perhaps  cast  off  again?" 


A   STORY   FROM   EAST   AFRICA       133 

"Ah,  Bibi !"  she  said,  "what  has  become  of  me?  I 
am  weak  and  ill  and  old,  and  yet  I  have  to  cook 
and  work  for  others."  This  is  just  what  does  hap- 
pen unless  they  have  a  house  and  property  of  their 
own.  They  become  household  drudges  to  those  re- 
lations who  take  them  in,  and  there  is  rejoicing  at 
their  death. 

The  rule  here  is  for  each  man  to  have  four  wives, 
if  he  can  afford  it.  The  number  of  concubines  is,  I 
believe,  unlimited.  Here  the  wives  live  each  in  a 
separate  house.  The  reason  given  is:  "If  we  lived 
together  we  should  be  jealous  and  quarrel  and  make 
our  husband  miserable." 

I  have  known  cases  where  the  husband  has  only 
the  one  wife  and  there  seems  to  be  a  certain  amount 
of  affection.  One  little  wife  said  to  me  the  other 
day,  "I  love  my  husband  now,  but  if  he  ever  takes 
another  wife  I  shall  hate  him  and  leave  him." 

Could  one  blame  her? 

In  most  cases  just  as  a  girl  has  learned  to  read 
she  has  been  forbidden  by  her  husband,  and  I  have 
been  told,  "My  husband  says  there  is  no  profit  in 
women  learning  to  read  and  he  has  forbidden  it." 

How  one  has  felt  for  and  grieved  with  some  of 
these  women !  One  day  in  going  as  usual  to  give  a 
reading  lesson  to  a  mother  and  daughter  (these  two 
really  loved  each  other),  I  found  them  both  very 
sad  and  miserable.  It  seemed  that  the  father  of  the 
girl  determined  to  marry  her  to  an  elderly  man 
whom,  of  course,  she  had  never  seen.  The  mother 


134         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

said  her  daughter  was  too  young  to  be  married,  and 
she  knew  something  of  the  character  of  the  man. 
She  begged  me  to  try  and  do  something,  but  we  were 
quite  helpless  in  the  matter;  a  large  sum  of  money 
was  paid  for  the  daughter.  Some  time  afterwards 
when  I  visited  the  house  the  mother  said  to  me, 
"Yes,  Bibi,  she  is  married  to  him  and  I  have  had  to 
sit  in  the  room  listening  to  the  cries  of  my  child  as 
he  ill-treated  her  in  the  next  room,  but  I  could  do 
nothing." 

How  one  longs  for  the  skill  to  bring  home  to  our 
favored  English  girls  and  wives  and  mothers,  the 
awful  wrongs  and  the  needs  of  these  their  Moslem 
sisters !  But  what  human  weakness  cannot  do,  God 
by  His  Holy  Spirit  can.  May  He  lead  some  of  you 
to  give  yourselves  to  the  glorious  work  of  bringing 
light  and  life  to  these  your  sisters  who  are  "Sit- 
ting in  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death."  Love  is 
what  they  want.  Our  love  that  will  bring  knowl- 
edge of  Christ's  great  love  to  them.  Will  you  not 
pray  for  them? 


"Women  are  worthless  creatures  and  soil  men's  reputations." 
"The  heart  of  a  woman  is  given  to  folly." 

—ARABIC  PROVERBS. 

THIS  is  an  outline  sketch  of  the  pitiful  intellectual, 
social,  and  moral  condition  of  tjie  nearly  four  million 
women  and  girls  in  Mohammedan  Arabia.  To  be- 
gin with,  the  percentage  of  illiteracy,  although  not  so 
great  as  in  some  other  Moslem  lands,  is  at  least 
eighty  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number.  In  Eastern 
Arabia  a  number  of  girls  attend  schools,  but  the  in- 
struction and  discipline  are  very  indifferent;  atten- 
tion to  the  lesson  is  not  demanded,  so  that  a  Moslem 
school  is  a  paradise  for  a  lazy  girl!  A  girl  is  re- 
moved from  school  very  early  to  prepare  for  her  life- 
work  and  that  is  marriage.  In  a  majority  of  cases 
she  soon  forgets  what  little  knowledge  she  may  have 
attained.  A  few  women  are  good  readers,  but  these 
are  the  most  bigoted  and  fanatical  of  all  women,  and 
it  is  difficult  to  make  any  impression  upon  them  as 
they  are  firmly  convinced  that  the  Koran  contains 
all  they  need  for  salvation  now  and  hereafter. 

General  ignorance  is  the  cause  of  general  unhappi- 
135 


136         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

ness  and  such  dense  ignorance  often  makes  them  sus- 
picious and  unreasonable.  Nothing  is  done  by  the 
men  to  educate  their  women.  On  the  contrary,  their 
object  seems  to  be  to  keep  them  from  thinking  for 
themselves.  They  "treat  them  like  brutes  and  they 
behave  as  such."  The  men  keep  their  feet  on  the 
necks  of  their  women  and  then  expect  them  to  rise ! 
The  same  men  who  themselves  indulge  in  the  gross- 
est form  of  immorality  become  very  angry  and  cruel 
if  there  is  a  breath  of  scandal  against  their  women. 
In  Bahrein,  a  young  pearl-diver  heard  a  rumor  that 
his  sister  was  not  a  pure  woman;  he  returned  imme- 
diately from  the  divings  and  stabbed  her  in  a  most 
diabolical  way  without  even  inquiring  as  to  the  truth 
of  the  matter.  She  died  in  great  agony  from  her 
injuries,  and  the  brother  was  acquitted  by  a  Moslem 
judge,  who  is  himself  capable  of  breaking  all  the 
commandments. 

Polygamy  is  practised  by  all  who  can  afford  this 
so-called  luxury,  particularly  by  those  in  high  posi- 
tions. The  wives  of  these  men  are  not  happy,  but 
submit  since  they  believe  it  is  the  will  of  God  and  of 
His  prophet.  The  women  are  not  at  all  content  with 
their  condition,  and  each  one  wishes  herself  to  be 
the  favored  one  and  will  take  steps  to  insure  this  if 
possible.  Those  who  have  learned  a  little  of  the 
social  condition  of  women  in  Christian  lands  very 
readily  appreciate  the  difference. 

It  is  a  common  thing  for  us  to  be  asked  to  pre- 
scribe poison  for  a  rival  wife  who  has  been  added 


OUR   ARABIAN    SISTERS         137 

to  the  household  and  for  the  time  being  is  the 
favorite.  Through  jealousy  some  of  these  sup- 
planted wives  plunge  into  a  life  of  sin.  I  do  not 
know  anything  more  pathetic  than  to  have  to  listen 
to  a  poor  soul  pleading  for  a  love-philter  or  potion 
to  bring  back1  the  so-called  love  of  a  perfidious  hus- 
band. Women,  whether  rich  or  poor,  naturally  pre- 
fer to  be  the  only  wife.  Divorce  is  fearfully  com- 
mon; I  think  perhaps  it  is  the  case  in  nine  out  of 
every  ten  marriages.  Many  women  have  been 
divorced  several  times.  They  marry  again,  but  this 
early  and  frequent  divorce  causes  much  immorality. 
Some  divorced  women  return  to  the  house  of  their 
parents,  while  the  homeless  ones  are  most  miserable 
and  find  escape  from  misery  only  in  death. 

All  these  horrible  social  conditions  complicate 
matters  and  it  is  difficult  to  find  out  who  is  who  in 
these  mixed  houses.  It  is  far  more  pathetic  to  go 
through  some  Moslem  homes  than  to  visit  a  home 
for  foundlings.  When  a  woman  is  divorced,  the 
father  may  keep  the  children  if  he  wishes,  and  no 
matter  how  much  a  heart-broken  mother  may 
plead  for  them,  she  is  not  allowed  to  have  them. 
If  the  man  does  not  wish  to  keep  them  he  sends  the 
children  with  the  mother,  and  if  she  marries  again 
the  new  husband  does  not  expect  to  contribute 
to  the  support  of  the  children  of  the  former 
marriage. 

There  can  be  no  pure  home-life,  as  the  children 
are  wise  above  their  years  in  the  knowledge  of  sin. 


138         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

Nothing  is  kept  from  them  and  they  are  perfectly 
conversant  with  the  personal  history  of  their  parents, 
past  and  present. 

A  man  may  have  a  new  wife  every  few  months 
if  he  so  desires,  and  in  some  parts  of  Arabia  this 
is  a  common  state  of  affairs  among  the  rich  chiefs. 
The  result  of  all  this  looseness  of  morals  is  inde- 
scribable. Unnatural  vice  abounds,  and  so  do  con- 
tagious diseases  which  are  the  inheritance  of  poor 
little  children. 

There  is  a  very  large  per  cent,  of  infant  mortality 
partly  on  this  account,  and  partly  on  account  of 
gross  ignorance  in  the  treatment  of  the  diseases  of 
childhood. 

Instead  of  a  home  full  of  love  and  peace,  there  is 
dissension  and  distrust.  The  heart  of  the  husband 
does  not  trust  his  wife  and  she  seeks  to  do  him  evil, 
not  good.  For  example,  a  woman  is  thought  very 
clever  if  she  can  cheat  her  husband  out  of  his  money 
or  capital,  and  lay  it  up  for  herself  in  case  she  is 
divorced.  There  is  nothing  to  bind  them  in  sweet 
communion  and  interchange  of  confidences.  As  a 
rule,  when  a  man  and  a  woman  marry  they  do  not 
look  for  mutual  consideration  and  respect  and 
courtesy;  marriage  is  rather  looked  upon  as  a  good 
or  a  bad  bargain.  That  marriage  has  anything  to 
do  with  the  affections  does  not  often  occur  to  them. 
If  only  a  man's  passions  can  be  satisfied  and  his 
material  needs  provided,  that  is  all  he  expects  from 
marriage. 


OUR   ARABIAN    SISTERS         139 

But  I  do  not  deny  that  there  are  grand  though 
not  frequent  exceptions  to  this  evil  system.  I  have 
seen  a  man  cling  to  his  wife  and  love  her  and  grieve 
sadly  when  she  died.  And  some  Arab  fathers  dearly 
love  their  daughters  and  mourn  at  the  loss  of  one, 
and  the  little  girls  show  sincere  affection  for  their 
fathers.  And  yet  all  these  bright  spots  only  make 
the  general  blackness  of  home-life  seem  more  dense 
and  dismal. 

Missionary  schools  and  education  in  general  have 
done  much  in  breaking  up  this  system.  Many 
Moslems  of  the  higher  class  are  trying  to  justify  the 
grosser  side  of  their  book-religion  by  spiritualizing 
the  Koran  teaching.  But  secular  education  will 
never  make  a  firm  foundation  for  the  elevation  of 
a  nation  or  an  individual.  Those  who  have  been 
led  to  see  the  weakness  of  a  religion  that  degrades 
women,  have  gained  their  knowledge  through  the 
Gospel. 

The  fact  that  attention  is  paid  to  suffering  women 
by  medical  missions  is  already  changing  the  prev- 
alent idea  that  woman  is  inferior  and  worthless. 
And  although  it  may  seem  sometimes  an  impossible 
task  to  ever  raise  these  women  to  think  higher 
thoughts  and  to  rise  from  the  degradation  of  cen- 
turies, yet  we  know  from  experience  that  those  who 
come  in  contact  with  Christian  women  soon  learn 
to  avoid  all  unclean  conversation  in  their  presence. 
Visiting  them  in  their  huts  and  homes  is  also  a 
means  of  breaking  down  prejudice.  The  daily  clinic 


140         OUR   MOSLEM   SISTERS 

in  the  three  mission  hospitals  of  East  Arabia,  where 
thousands  of  sick  women  receive  as  much  attention 
as  do  the  men,  is  winning  the  hearts  and  opening 
the  eyes  of  many  to  see  what  disinterested  love  is. 
They  can  scarcely  understand  what  constrains  Chris- 
tian women  to  go  into  such  unlovely  surroundings 
and  touch  bodies  loathsome  from  disease  in  the 
dispensaries. 

When  the  men  have  wisdom  to  perceive  that  the 
education  of  their  women  and  girls  means  the  eleva- 
tion of  their  nation,  and  when  they  give  the  women 
an  opportunity  to  become  more  than  mere  animals, 
then  will  the  nation  become  progressive  and  alive  to 
its  great  possibilities.  Reformation  cannot  come 
from  within  but  must  come  from  without,  from  the 
living  power  of  the  Christ.  Are  you  not  responsible 
to  God  for  a  part  in  the  evangelization  of  Arabia  in 
this  generation? 

"Let  none  whom  He  hath  ransomed  fail  to  greet  Him, 
Through  thy  neglect  unfit  to  see  His  face." 

The  following  earnest  words,  from  one  who  being 
dead  yet  speaketh,  are  a  plea  for  more  workers  to 
come  out  to  Arabia.  Marion  Wells  Thorns,  M.  D., 
labored  for  five  years  in  Arabia  and  wrote  in  one 
of  her  last  letters  as  follows : 

"The  Mohammedan  religion  has  done  much  to 
degrade  womanhood.  To  be  sure,  female  infanticide 
formerly  practised  by  the  heathen  Arabs  was  abol- 


OUR   ARABIAN    SISTERS         141 

ished  by  Islam,  but  that  death  was  not  so  terrible  as 
the  living  death  of  thousands  of  the  Arab  women 
who  have  lived  since  the  reign  of  the  'merciful' 
prophet,  nor  was  its  effect  upon  society  in  general 
so  demoralizing.  In  the  'time  of  ignorance,'  that 
is  time  before  Mohammed,  women  often  occupied 
positions  of  honor.  There  were  celebrated  poetesses 
and  we  read  of  Arab  queens  ruling  their  tribes. 

"Such  a  state  of  things  does  not  exist  to-day,  but 
the  woman's  influence,  though  never  recognized  by 
the  men,  is  nevertheless  indirectly  a  potent  factor, 
but  never  of  a  broadening  or  uplifting  character. 
To  have  been  long  regarded  as  naturally  evil  has 
had  a  degrading  influence.  Mohammedan  classical 
writers  have  done  their  best  to  revile  womanhood. 
'May  Allah  never  bless  womankind'  is  a  quotation 
from  one  of  them. 

"Moslem  literature,  it  is  true,  exhibits  isolated 
glimpses  of  a  worthier  estimation  of  womanhood, 
but  the  later  view,  which  comes  more  and  more  into 
prevalence,  is  the  only  one  which  finds  its  expression 
in  the  sacred  tradition,  which  represents  hell  as  full 
of  women,  and  refuses  to  acknowledge  in  its  women, 
apart  from  rare  exceptions,  either  reason  or  religion, 
in  poems  which  refer  all  the  evil  in  the  world  to  the 
woman  as  its  root,  in  proverbs  which  represent  a 
careful  education  of  girls  as  mere  waste. 

"When  the  learned  ones  ascribe  such  character- 
istics to  women,  is  it  any  wonder  that  they  have 
come  to  regard  themselves  as  mere  beasts  of  burden  ? 


H2          OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

The  Arab  boy  spends  ten  or  twelve  years  of  his  life 
largely  in  the  women's  quarters,  listening  to  their 
idle  conversation  about  household  affairs  and  their 
worse  than  idle  talk  about  their  jealousies  and  in- 
trigues. 

"When  the  boy  becomes  a  man,  although  he  has 
absolute  dominion  over  his  wife  as  far  as  the  right 
to  punish  or  divorce  her  is  concerned,  he  often 
yields  to  her  decision  in  regard  to  some  line  of 
action.  In  treating  a  woman  I  have  sometimes  ap- 
pealed to  the  husband  to  prevail  upon  his  wife  to 
consent  to  more  severe  treatment  than  she  was  will- 
ing to  receive.  After  conversing  with  his  wife  his 
answer  has  been,  'She  will  not  consent,'  and  that 
has  been  final.  Lady  Ann  Blunt,  who  has  travelled 
among  the  Bedouins,  says,  'In  more  than  one 
sheikh's  tent  it  is  the  women's  half  of  it  in  which  the 
politics  of  the  tribe  are  settled.' 

"In  regard  to  their  religion  they  believe  what 
they  have  been  told  or  have  heard  read  from  the 
Koran  and  other  religious  books.  They  do  not 
travel  as  much  as  the  men,  and  do  not  have  the 
opportunity  of  listening  to  those  who  do,  hence  their 
ideas  are  not  changed  by  what  they  see  and  hear. 
All  the  traditions  of  Mohammed  and  other  heroes 
are  frequently  rehearsed  and  implicitly  believed. 

"Although  the  Arab  race  is  considered  a  strong 
one,  we  find  among  the  women  every  ill  to  which 
their  flesh  is  heir,  unrelieved  and  oftentimes  even 
aggravated  by  their  foolish  native  treatment.  A 


OUR   ARABIAN    SISTERS         143 

mother's  heart  cannot  help  but  ache  as  she  hears  the 
Arab  mother  tell  of  the  loss  of  two,  three,  four,  or 
more  of  her  children,  the  sacrifice  perhaps  to  her 
own  ignorance.  The  physical  need  of  the  Arab 
women  is  great  and  we  pray  that  it  may  soon  appeal 
to  some  whose  medical  training  fits  them  to  admin- 
ister to  this  need  in  all  parts  of  Arabia. 

"In  the  towns  in  which  there  are  missionaries 
there  are  comparatively  few  houses  in  which  they 
are  not  welcomed.  In  our  own  station  there  are 
more  open  houses  than  we  have  ever  had  time  to 
visit.  Wherever  women  travellers,  of  whom  there 
have  been  two  of  some  note,  have  gone,  they  have 
been  met  with  kindness ;  hence  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
open  door  is  not  lacking." 

Ignorance,  superstition,  and  sensuality  are  the 
characteristics  which  impress  themselves  most 
strongly  at  first  upon  one  who  visits  the  Arab  harem, 
but  there  are  those,  too,  among  the  women  who  are 
really  attractive.  It  is  a  dark  picture,  and  we  do 
not  urge  the  need  of  more  workers  because  the 
fields  are  white  to  harvest.  We  ask  that  more  offer 
themselves  and  be  sent  soon,  rather,  that,  after  they 
have  learned  the  difficult  language,  they  may  be  able 
to  begin  to  prepare  the  ground  for  seed-soimng.  It 
is  a  work  that  can  only  be  done  by  women,  for 
while  the  Bedouin  women  have  greater  freedom  to 
go  about  and  converse  with  the  men  than  the  town 
women  have,  and  while  some  of  the  poorer  classes 
in  the  towns  will  allow  themselves  to  be  treated  by  a 


144          OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

man  doctor,  and  sit  and  listen  to  an  address  made  in 
the  dispensary,  the  better  class  are  only  accessible 
in  their  houses.  Their  whole  range  of  ideas  is  so 
limited  and  so  far  below  ours  that  it  will  require 
"line  upon  line  and  precept  upon  precept"  to  teach 
these  women  that  there  is  a  higher  and  better  life 
for  them.  In  fact  there  must  be  the  creation  of  the 
desire  for  better  things  as  far  as  most  of  them  are 
concerned,  but  love  and  tact  accompanied  by  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  can  win  their  way  to  these 
hearts  and  accomplish  the  same  results  that  have 
been  accomplished  among  other  Oriental  women. 

I  have  been  striving  to  show  that  there  is  a  crying 
need  for  work  among  the  Arab  women  and  that 
there  are  ample  opportunities  for  service.  I  appeal 
to  the  women  of  the  church  whose  sympathies  have 
so  long  gone  out  to  heathen  women  everywhere,  not 
to  have  less  sympathy  for  them,  but  to  include  Mo- 
hammedan Arabia  and  her  womanhood  more  and 
more  in  their  love,  their  gifts,  and  their  prayers. 
In  the  days  of  Mohammed,  after  the  battle  of 
Khaibar,  in  which  so  many  of  her  people  had  been 
mercilessly  slaughtered,  Zeinab,  the  Jewess,  who 
prepared  a  meal  for  Mohammed  and  his  men,  put 
poison  in  the  mutton  and  all  but  caused  the  prophet's 
death.  It  is  said  by  some  that  he  never  fully  re- 
covered from  the  effects  of  the  poison,  and  that  it 
was  an  indirect  cause  of  his  death.  It  seems  to  us 
who  have  lived  and  labored  in  the  land  of  the  false 
prophet  that  his  religion  will  only  receive  its  death- 


OUR   ARABIAN    SISTERS         14$ 

blow  when  Christian  women  rise  to  their  duty  and 
privilege,  and  by  love  and  sacrifice,  not  in  vengeance 
but  in  mercy,  send  the  true  religion  to  these  our 
neglected,  degraded  sisters, — sisters  in  Him  who 
"hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations." 


XI 

WOMEN'S  LIFE  IN  THE  YEMEN 

THE  term  "Yemen,"  meaning  the  land  on  the 
right  hand,  is  the  name  applied  to  that  whole  tract  of 
land  in  Arabia  south  of  Mecca  and  west  of  the 
Hadramaut,  which  has  always  been  looked  upon  as  a 
dependency  or  province. 

In  early  historical  times  the  Yemen  was  occupied 
by  Homerites  and  other  aborigines,  but  later  on  by 
the  Himyarites,  who  drove  many  of  the  original  in- 
habitants to  seek  a  new  home  in  Africa,  where,  hav- 
ing intermarried  with  the  Gallas,  Kaffirs,  and 
Dankalis,  they  formed  a  new  race  which  is  generally 
known  nowadays  as  the  Somali. 

The  physical  conformation  of  the  Yemen  is  not 
unlike  that  of  the  portion  of  Africa  immediately 
opposite,  where  there  is  as  great  diversity  in  climate 
and  soil  as  there  is  in  the  manners  and  customs  of 
the  peoples. 

From  Aden,  the  Eastern  Gibraltar,  right  north- 
ward there  stretches  a  range  of  mountains  chiefly 
formed  of  igneous  rocks  that  have  been  bent,  torn, 
and  twisted  like  the  iron  girders  of  a  huge  building 
that  has  been  destroyed  by  fire  and  almost  covered 
by  the  ruin.  Bare  peak  after  peak  rises  from  the 

146 


WOMEN'S  LIFE  IN  THE  YEMEN      14? 

mass  of  debris  yet  everywhere  pierced,  scarred,  and 
seamed  by  the  monsoon  floods  seeking  their  way  to 
the  ocean  bed;  they  seldom  reach  it,  however,  as  a 
stream  and  never  as  a  river,  because  of  the  barren, 
scorched,  sandy  zone  which  belts  the  Red  Sea  and 
sucks  into  its  huge  maw  everything  that  the  hills 
send  down. 

Like  his  country  the  Yemen  Arab  is  girded  about 
with  an  arid  zone  of  reserve  which  few  Europeans 
have  ever  crossed,  but  when  they  have  managed  to 
do  so,  according  to  the  individual  they  have  met, 
they  have  found  it  may  be  a  man  with  a  heart  as 
hard  as  a  nether  millstone.  Marrying  one  day  and 
divorcing  almost  the  next,  only  to  marry  another  as 
soon  as  he  can  scrape  together  sufficient  funds  to 
purchase  a  wife,  this  type  of  man  looks  upon  woman 
as  an  inferior  animal  formed  for  man's  gratification, 
and  to  be  flung  aside  like  a  sucked  orange  when  the 
juice  is  gone. 

Or  on  the  other  hand,  they  may  find  men  whom 
real  love  has  saved  and  made  to  give  forth  warm 
affection  and  true  domestic  joy,  just  as  the  terraced 
ridges  on  their  mountain  slopes  retain  the  God- 
given  moisture  and  send  forth  a  luxuriant  crop  of 
strengthening  cereals,  delicious  coffee,  and  luscious 
grapes. 

I  have  known  young  men  of  twenty-four  who 
have  been  married  and  divorced  half  a  dozen  times, 
and  also  Arabs  whose  days  are  in  the  sere  and  yellow 
leaf  who  never  had  but  one  wife. 


148         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

There  was  a  native  chief  who  used  to  come  occa- 
sionally to  our  dispensary  whose  children  were  num- 
bered by  three  figures,  and  Khan  Bahadur  Numcher- 
jee  Rustomjee,  C.  I.  E.,  who  was  for  many  years  a 
magistrate  in  Aden,  told  me  he  knew  a  woman  who 
had  been  legally  married  more  than  fifty  times  and 
had  actually  forgotten  the  names  of  the  fathers  of 
two  of  her  children ! 

One  day  an  Arab  brought  a  fine-looking  woman  to 
our  dispensary,  and  as  he  was  very  kind  to  her  and 
seemed  to  love  her  very  much  I  ventured  to  tell  him 
that  she  was  suffering  from  diabetes  mellitus,  and 
that  in  order  to  preserve  her  life  he  would  require  to 
be  careful  with  her  diet.  He  thanked  me  most  pro- 
foundly, promised  to  do  all  that  he  could  for  her, 
took  her  home  and  divorced  her  the  same  day,  cast- 
ing her  off  in  the  village  and  leaving  her  without  a 
copper. 

Next  morning  she  came  weeping  to  the  dispensary 
and  I  tried  to  get  compensation,  but  the  man  pleaded 
poverty,  and  because  I  was  the  cause  of  her  plight 
I  felt  in  duty  bound  to  support  her  until  she  died 
some  months  later. 

Another  man  of  more  than  fifty  years  carried 
the  wife  of  his  youth  to  our  dispensary  on  his  back. 
She  was  suffering  from  Bright's  disease  and  ascites, 
yet  he  toiled  on  and  till  now  has  shown  no  sign  of 
wavering  in  his  allegiance.  Warm-hearted,  courte- 
ous, and  kind,  I  look  upon  him  as  one  of  nature's 
noblemen  whom  even  Mohammedanism  cannot  spoil. 


WOMEN'S  LIFE  IN  THE  YEMEN      149 

Another  man  whose  wife  had  an  ovarian  tumor 
brought  her  down  from  Hodeidah  for  me  to  operate 
on,  and  faithfully  attended  to  all  her  wants  while 
she  was  ill,  and  at  last  when  the  wound  caused  by 
operation  was  healed,  took  her  home  joyfully  as  a 
bridegroom  takes  home  the  bride  of  his  choice. 

A  third  man,  who  had  either  two  or  three  wives  at 
the  time,  called  me  to  see  one  who  had  been  in  labor 
for  six  days.  When  the  Arab  midwives  confessed 
that  they  could  do  nothing  more  for  her  and  when  he 
saw  her  sinking,  love  triumphed  over  prejudice,  and 
he  came  hurriedly  for  me.  I  performed  a  Caesarean 
section,  and  so  earned  the  gratitude  of  both  hus- 
band and  wife,  who,  though  years  have  gone,  still 
take  a  warm  interest  in  all  that  concerns  the  mission. 

I  wish,  however,  that  I  could  say  that  cases  like 
these  were  common  experiences  with  me,  but  un- 
fortunately the  reverse  is  the  case.  Men  seem  al- 
ways ashamed  to  speak  of  their  wives  and  when 
wanting  medicine  for  them  or  me  to  visit  them 
always  speak  of  them  as,  "my  family" — "the  mother 
of  my  children" — "my  uncle's  daughters,"  or  like 
circumlocution.  Once  I  boxed  a  boy's  ears  for 
speaking  of  his  own  mother  as  his  "father's  cow!" 

Brought  up  in  ignorance,  unable  to  read,  write, 
sew,  or  do  fancy  work — in  all  my  experience  out 
here  I  have  never  known  of  a  real  Arab  girl  being 
sent  to  school  nor  a  real  Arab  woman  who  knew  the 
alphabet.  Sold  at  a  marriageable  age,  in  many 
cases  to  the  highest  bidder,  then  kept  closely  secluded 


i$o         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

in  the  house,  is  it  any  wonder  that  her  health  is 
undermined  and  when  brought  to  child-bed  there 
is  no  strength  left? 

Called  one  day  to  see  a  Somali  woman  I  missed 
the  whip  usually  seen  in  a  Somali's  house,  and  jok^ 
ingly  asked  how  her  husband  managed  to  keep  her 
in  order  without  a  whip.  She,  taking  her  husband 
and  me  by  the  hand,  said,  "You  are  my  father  and 
this  is  my  husband.  Love  unites  us,  and  where  love 
is  there  is  no  need  for  whips." 

I  was  so  pleased  with  her  speech  that  I  offered  her 
husband,  who  was  out  of  work,  a  subordinate  place 
in  our  dispensary.  Yet  less  than  a  month  later  I 
heard  that  he  had  divorced  his  wife  and  turned 
her  out  of  doors. 

The  following  case  will,  I  think,  illustrate  the 
usual  attitude  of  the  Arabs  in  the  Yemen  towards 
womankind : 

A  man  whose  wife  had  been  in  labor  two  days 
came  asking  for  medicine  to  make  her  well.  My 
reply  was  that  it  was  necessary  to  see  the  woman 
before  I  could  give  such  a  drug  as  he  wished. 
"Well,"  said  he,  "she  will  die  before  I  allow  you  or 
any  other  man  to  see  her,"  and  two  days  after  I 
heard  of  her  death. 

I  have  often  remonstrated  with  the  men  for  keep- 
ing their  wives  so  closely  confined  and  for  not  de- 
lighting in  their  company,  and  making  them  com- 
panions and  friends.  But  almost  invariably  I  have 
been  answered  thus,  "The  Prophet  (upon  whom  be 


WOMEN'S  LIFE  IN  THE  YEMEN      151 

blessing  and  peace)  said,  'Do  not  trouble  them  with 
what  they  cannot  bear,  for  they  are  prisoners  in 
your  hands  whom  you  took  in  trust  from  God.' ' 
And  therefore  as  prisoners  they  are  to  be  kept  and 
treated  as  being  of  inferior  intellect. 

I  have  known  cases  where  a  man  gave  his  daugh- 
ter in  marriage  on  condition  that  the  bridegroom 
would  never  marry  another  wife;  but  the  man  broke 
his  word  and  married  a  second  wife,  whereupon  he 
was  summoned  before  the  kadi,  who  ruled  that, 
"When  a  man  marries  a  woman  on  condition  that 
he  would  not  marry  another  at  the  same  time  with 
her,  the  contract  is  valid  and  the  condition  void  be- 
cause it  makes  unlawful  what  is  lawful,  and  God 
knoweth  all." 

The  consequence  of  such  laws  is  that  the  women 
become  prone  to  criminal  intrigues,  and  I  have 
known  dozens  of  cases  where  mothers  have  helped 
their  daughters  and  even  acted  as  procuresses  for 
them  to  avenge  some  slight  upon  them  or  injury 
done  to  them.  There  is  no  fear  of  God  before  their 
eyes.  Heaven  to  them  is  little  better  than  a  place  of 
prostitution.  Why,  then,  should  they  desire  it? 
Here  they  know  the  bitterness  of  being  one  of  two 
or  three  wives,  why  then  should  they  wish  to  be 
"one  of  seventy"  ? 


XII 

PEN-AND-INK   SKETCHES   IN   PALESTINE 

SIR  WILLIAM  MUIR,  who  lived  for  forty  years  in 
India,  says:  "The  sword  of  Islam  and  the  Koran 
are  the  most  obstinate  foes  to  civilization,  liberty, 
and  truth  the  world  has  yet  known."  After  a  resi- 
dence of  nearly  twenty  years  in  Palestine  and  much 
intercourse  among  all  classes,  both  in  city  and  vil- 
lage life,  the  writer  of  this  chapter  can  confirm  the 
statement. 

Islam  is  the  same  everywhere  and  changes  not. 

The  chief  cause  of  its  blighting  influence  is  its 
degradation  and  contempt  of  women,  which  is  the 
result  of  ignorance  of  the  Word  of  God.  Therefore, 
the  wide-spread  preaching  of  the  Gospel  to-day  is 
the  need  of  Islam,  and  the  responsibility  for  it 
rests  chiefly  upon  the  Christians  of  England  and 
America. 

One  looks  in  vain  among  Moslems  for  peaceful 
homes,  honored  wives,  affectionate  husbands,  happy 
sons  and  daughters,  loving  and  trusting  one  another. 

A  Moslem  home  is  built  upon  the  foundation  of 
the  man's  right  (religious  right)  to  have  at  least 
four  wives  at  a  time;  to  divorce  them  at  pleasure 

152 


SKETCHES   IN    PALESTINE     i$3 

and  to  bring  others  as  frequently  as  he  has  the  incli- 
nation or  the  money  to  buy. 

A  son  is  always  welcomed  at  birth  with  shrill 
shouts  and  boisterous  clapping  of  hands  or  beating 
of  drums ;  but  a  baby  girl  is  received  in  silence  and 
disappointment. 

The  boy  is  indulged  in  every  way  from  the  day  of 
his  arrival.  He  is  under  no  restraint  or  control, 
and  usually  at  two  years  of  age  is  a  little  tyrant, 
freely  cursing  his  mother  and  sisters.  The  mother 
smiles  at  his  cleverness,  she  herself  having  taught 
him,  and  her  own  teaching  leads  afterwards  to  much 
misery  in  the  lives  of  other  women. 

Great  numbers  of  boys  die  in  infancy,  or  under 
three  years  of  age,  because  of  the  ignorance  of  their 
mothers  in  caring  for  them.  They  are  either  over- 
fed or  neglected.  In  some  families,  where  there 
have  been  a  number  of  both  boys  and  girls,  all  the 
boys  have  died.  The  women  have  been  blamed  for 
this  and  sometimes  divorced,  or  else  retained  to 
serve  the  new  wives  who  have  been  brought  instead. 

How  often  I  think  of  the  dear  little  Moslem  girls ! 
The  most  teachable  and  responsive  to  loving  kind- 
ness of  all.  Oh,  that  they  might  have  happy  homes, 
happy  mothers,  wise  and  loving  fathers !  One  dear 
Moslem  child,  only  four  years  old,  after  having  been 
in  a  Christian  mission  school  for  a  year,  was  taken 
ill  and  died.  All  the  members  of  a  large  family 
were  present  as  she  lay  dying  (crowding  into  the 
room  of  the  sick  is  an  Oriental  custom)  and  heard 


154         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

her  exclaim:  "My  mother!  Jesus  loves  little  girls 
just  like  me !" 

A  Moslem  can  divorce  his  wife  at  his  pleasure  or 
send  her  away  from  his  house  without  a  divorce.  If 
he  does  only  the  latter,  she  cannot  marry  any  one 
else.  This  is  often  done  purposely  to  torment  her. 
But  the  women  are  not  the  only  sufferers  through 
these  wretched  domestic  arrangements.  Many  of 
them  are  utterly  heartless  and  show  no  pity  for 
their  own  children.  They  will  leave  them  to  marry 
again,  the  new  husband  refusing  to  take  the  chil- 
dren, and  numbers  die  in  consequence.  Many  a 
troublesome  old  man  is  also  put  out  of  the  way  by 
poison  administered  by  the  wives  of  his  sons.  Not 
long  ago  a  prison,  in  an  Oriental  city,  was  visited 
by  some  Christian  missionaries  who  had  obtained 
permission  to  see  the  women  who  had  been  sen- 
tenced for  life.  They  are  found  to  be  there  for  hav- 
ing murdered  their  "da-ra-ir,"  that  is,  their  hus- 
bands' other  wives,  or  the  children  of  their  hated 
rivals;  and,  having  no  money,  they  had  not  been 
able  to  buy  their  way  out  of  prison,  as  can  be  done 
and  is  customary  in  Moslem  countries. 

As  the  camera  would  not  do  full  justice  to 
Moslem  "interiors,"  either  in  house-life  or  in  the 
administration  of  public  affairs,  both  also  being 
difficult  to  obtain,  a  few  "pen  and  ink"  sketches 
are  sent  by  the  writer  of  this  article,  taken  in  person 
on  the  spot. 

Here  is  a  picture  of  Abu  Ali's  household.     Abu 


SKETCHES   IN   PALESTINE     155 

AH  has  two  wives,  Aisha  and  Amina.  Confusion  and 
every  evil  thing  are  found  in  his  family  life.  Each 
wife  has  five  children,  large  and  small,  and  the  ten 
of  the  two  families  all  hate  each  other.  They  fight 
and  bite,  scratch  out  each  other's  eyes,  and  pull  out 
each  other's  hair.  The  husband  has  good  houses 
and  gardens  but  the  women  and  children  all  live  in 
dark,  damp  rooms  on  the  ground  floor.  The  writer 
knows  them  and  often  goes  to  see  them,  especially  to 
comfort  the  older  wife,  whose  life  is  very  wretched. 
She  is  almost  starved  at  times.  She  weeps  many 
bitter  tears  and  curses  the  religion  into  which  she 
was  born.  The  Prophet  Mohammed's  religion  makes 
many  a  man  a  heartless  tyrant.  He  is  greatly  to 
be  pitied  because  a  victim  by  inheritance  to  this 
vast  system  of  evil.  Wild  animals  show  more  affec- 
tion for  their  offspring  and  certainly  take  (for 
a  while  at  least)  more  responsibility  for  their  young 
than  many  Moslems  do  in  Palestine. 

Werdie  is  another  case.  This  name  in  Arabic 
means  "a  rose."  There  are  many  sweet  young  roses 
in  the  East  but,  hidden  away  among  thorns  and 
brambles,  their  fragrance  is  often  lost.  This 
Werdie,  a  fair  young  blue-eyed  girl  whose  six  own 
brothers  had  all  died,  lived  with  her  mother  and 
father  and  his  other  wives  in  a  very  large  Oriental 
house  (not  a  home}.  She  lived  in  the  midst  of 
continual  strife,  cursings,  "evil  eyes,"  and  fights. 
This  household  is  a  distinguished  family  in  their 
town! 


156         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

Sometimes  the  quarrels  lasted  for  many  days 
without  cessation  and  Werdie  always  took  part  in 
them  as  her  mother's  champion.  The  quarrels  were 
between  her  father's  wives, — her  mother's  rivals, — 
and  she  often  boasted  that  she  could  hold  out  longer 
than  all  the  others  combined  against  her.  On  one 
occasion  her  awful  language  and  loud  railings  con- 
tinued for  three  days,  and  then  she  lost  her  voice — 
utterly — and  could  not  speak  for  weeks!  She  had 
an  ungoverned  temper,  and  when  goaded  by  the 
cruel  injustice  done  her  mother  she  delighted  to  give 
vent  to  it;  but  she  also  had  a  conscience  and  a  good 
mind  and  was  led  into  the  Light.  On  being  told 
of  the  power  in  Jesus  Christ  to  overcome,  she  said 
one  day,  "I  will  try  Him.  I  want  peace  in  my  heart, 
I  will  do  anything  to  get  it;  I  believe  in  Him  and 
I  will  trust  Him,"  and  she  did.  She  was  afterwards 
given  in  marriage  by  her  father,  against  her  wish,  to 
a  man  she  did  not  know.  He  treats  her  cruelly  as 
does  also  her  mother-in-law.  But  now  she  has 
another  spirit,  a  meek  and  lowly  one,  and  is  truly 
a  follower  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  In  the  midst 
of  strife  she  is  a  silent  sufferer  and  a  marvel  to  all 
the  members  of  her  family.  She  prays  much  and 
has  literally  a  broken  and  a  contrite  spirit.  She  is 
the  Lord's.  There  are  other  roses  among  the  Mos- 
lems whom  Jesus  Christ  came  to  redeem.  Let  us 
pray  for  them  and  go  and  find  them !  He  will  point 
the  Tvay. 

Saleh  Al  Wahhab  is  a  Moslem  in  good  position 


SKETCHES   IN   PALESTINE     157 

with  ample  means.  He  first  married  a  sweet-look- 
ing young  girl,  Belise  by  name,  but  she  had  no  chil- 
dren, so  he  divorced  her  and  married  three  other 
women.  Not  having  his  desire  for  children  granted, 
he  divorced  all  three  of  these  women  and  took  back 
his  first  wife,  who  was  quite  willing  to  go  to  him ! 

Haji  Hamid,  who  made  the  pilgrimage  to 
Mecca,  was  the  chief  of  a  Matawaly  village  and 
highly  honored,  belonging  to  the  Shiah  sect  of 
Moslems.  He  has  had  many  wives,  some  of 
whom  he  had  divorced  because  they  displeased  him, 
and  others  had  died.  When  he  became  an  old 
man,  he  brought  a  young  and,  as  he  was  assured  by 
others,  a  very  beautiful  and  virtuous  bride.  He  had 
never  seen  her.  He  paid  a  large  sum  of  money  for 
her,  most  of  which  she  wore  afterwards  as  orna- 
ments— gold  coins — on  her  head  and  neck. 

Soon  after  her  arrival  in  the  sheikh's  house  he 
became  seriously  ill.  She  found  this  unpleasant,  as 
she  was  a  bride  and  wanted  to  enjoy  herself.  So 
she  ran  away,  taking  all  the  gold  with  her,  and  left 
him  to  die! 

There  is  no  honor  or  truth  among  Moslems.  The 
Prophet's  religion  does  not  and  cannot  implant  pity 
or  compassion  in  the  human  heart.  Haji  Hamid  had 
inherited  from  his  birth  false  teaching,  the  evil  influ- 
ences and  results  of  lying,  corruption  in  Govern- 
ment affairs,  tyranny,  bribery,  bigotry,  and  con- 
tempt for  women.  He  only  reaped  as  he  had  sown. 
However,  he  heard  the  Gospel  on  his  dying  bed  and 


158         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

seemed  grateful  for  kindnesses  shown  to  him  by 
Christian  strangers. 

Abd  Er  Rahim,  "Slave  of  the  Merciful,"  was  a 
rich  Moslem  who  once  had  several  wives.  Some 
he  had  divorced,  some  he  had  sent  back  to  their 
fathers'  homes,  and  some  had  died,  and  he  was 
tired  of  the  one  who  remained  because  she  was 
getting  old. 

By  chance  he  had  seen  a  very  handsome  young 
peasant  girl,  and  he  wanted  her,  but  he  was  afraid 
of  his  wife,  for  he  felt  sure  that  she  would  be  trou- 
blesome if  he  brought  this  young  girl  to  his  house. 
So  he  planned  a  "shimel-howa"  for  his  wife  (a 
pleasant  time,  literally,  a  "smelling  of  the  air,"  a 
promenade),  to  which  she  readily  agreed.  She  put 
on  her  jewelry  and  silk  outer  garments,  and  started. 
Her  husband  was  to  follow  her,  but,  according  to 
Moslem  custom,  at  a  distance,  as  a  man  is  not  seen 
in  public  with  his  wife.  She  never  returned,  but 
was  found  dead  two  days  afterwards,  drowned  in 
a  well,  wearing  all  her  jewelry.  Her  husband  found 
her.  The  facts  were  never  investigated.  A  few 
days  afterwards  the  new  wife  was  brought  into  the 
house  and  lived  there  until  the  death  of  Abd  Er 
Rahim.  He  has  now  gone  to  his  reward!  He 
never  knew  anything  about  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
No  one  ever  told  him.  His  last  wife,  however,  did 
have  the  opportunity  of  knowing,  but  she  laughed 
and  made  fun  of  His  name.  When  she  died,  about 
three  years  ago,  twenty  large  jars  of  water  were 


SKETCHES   IN    PALESTINE     159 

poured  over  her  to  wash  away  her  sins.  She  was 
arrayed  in  several  silk  gowns  and  buried,  with  verses 
from  the  Koran  written  on  paper  placed  in  her 
dead  hands,  to  keep  evil  spirits  away  from  her  soul. 
Such  is  their  ignorant  superstition. 

Benda  was  a  poor  Moslem  woman  who  lived  in  a 
goat's-hair  tent  on  one  of  the  plains  mentioned  in 
the  Bible,  a  Bedouin  Arab's  cast-off  wife.  She 
had  lost  her  only  child,  her  son,  a  young  man. 
When  first  found,  she  herself  was  a  mere  skeleton. 
Very  deaf  and  clothed  in  rags,  she  sat  on  the 
ground,  weeping  bitterly  over  the  two  long  black 
braids  of  hair  of  her  dead  son,  a  pitiful  object.  It 
was  very  difficult  to  make  her  hear,  but  she  was 
taught,  often  amidst  the  roars  of  laughter  of  some 
nominal  Christians  who  said  to  her  teacher :  "Why 
do  you  cast  pearls  before  swine  ?" 

However,  Benda  was  one  of  His  jewels.  She  had 
a  hungry  heart,  she  understood  the  truth,  believed, 
and  was  saved  and  comforted.  Before  she  "went 
up  higher"  she  became  a  "witness"  to  some  of  her 
own  people. 

There  are  other  Moslem  Bendas  yet  to  be  found, 
others  to  be  brought  into  the  fold.  Who  will  come 
to  help  to  find  them  and  to  bring  them  in?  The 
lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Ishmael. 

Some  one  has  asked :  "What  happens  to  the  cast- 
off  wives  and  divorced  women  among  the  Mos- 
lems?" Sometimes  they  are  married  several  times 
and  divorced  by  several  men.  If  they  have  no  chil- 


160         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

dren,  after  their  strength  fails  them  so  that  they 
cannot  work,  they  beg  and  lead  a  miserable  exist- 
ence, and  die.  A  woman  who  has  lived  at  ease  and 
in  high  position,  after  being  divorced,  will  some- 
times reach  the  very  lowest  degrees  of  poverty,  hun- 
ger, and  misery,  and  then  die.  For  such,  there  are 
no  funeral  expenses ;  nothing  is  required  but  a  shal- 
low grave.  Moslem  men  are  usually  willing  to  dig 
that  in  their  own  burying  ground,  and  the  body  is 
carried  to  its  last  resting  place  on  the  public 
"ma'ash,"  or  bier.  Benda  was  buried  in  this  way, 
but  "she  had  an  inheritance  incorruptible  and  that 
fadeth  not  away." 

Sheikh  Haj  Hamid's  story  is  that  of  a  rescued 
Moslem.  Let  me  tell  it  to  you. 

There  is  to-day  in  the  far  East  a  town  built  out 
of  the  ruins  of  a  city  of  great  antiquity,  in  the  land 
where  giants  once  lived,  and  King  Og  reigned 
(Genesis  xiv.  5;  Deuteronomy  iii.  u,  13). 

Some  of  the  Lord's  messengers  went  out  there, 
recently,  to  gather  into  the  fold  any  of  His  scat- 
tered and  wandering  sheep  they  might  find.  Prob- 
ably the  Gospel  had  not  been  preached  there  for 
one  thousand  five  hundred  years.  The  Lord  had 
promised  to  go  before  His  messengers,  and  had 
assured  them  that  there  were  sheep  in  that  place 
who  would  hear  His  voice  and  follow  Him,  and, 
trusting  this  sure  guidance,  they  started.  "In 
journeyings,  often,  in  perils  of  water,  in  perils  of 
robbers,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils  among 


A   MOSLEM   CEMETERY 


A  CHRISTIAN 'CEMETERY 


SKETCHES   IN   PALESTINE     161 

false  brethren,"  they  searched  for  the  sheep  and 
lambs — and  found  them.  One  of  the  number  was  a 
dignified,  gray-haired  Moslem  sheikh  who,  on  hear- 
ing "the  call,"  with  groans  and  tears  asked,  "What 
must  I  do  to  be  saved,  for  my  sins  reach  up  to 
Heaven  ?  What  am  I  to  do  with  them  ?  For  forty 
long  years  I  have  gone  daily  to  the  mosque,  but 
never  before,  until  this  day,  have  I  heard  of  salva- 
tion in  Jesus  Christ."  And  he  wept  aloud  and 
cried  out:  "Won't  you  pray  for  me?"  He  eagerly 
received  instruction  and  believed.  His  last  and  oft 
repeated  words  to  his  new-found  Christian  friends, 
as  they  rode  away,  were:  "Won't  you  continue  to 
pray  for  me  ?" 

The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  speaking  to  His  own 
among  Moslems  to-day,  but  many  have  never  heard 
of  Him.  There  are  more  than  two  hundred  mil- 
lion Moslems  in  the  world.  "How  can  they  hear 
without  a  preacher?" 

Hindiyea's  story  will  also  interest  you.  A  Mos- 
lem woman  lay  dying  in  a  coast  town  of  old  Syro- 
Phcenicia.  She  was  the  wife  of  an  aged  Katib — 
the  scribe  of  the  town  and  the  teacher  of  the  Koran. 
The  woman  knew  that  her  end  was  near,  but  how 
could  she  die?  Where  was  she  going?  Her  hus- 
band had  no  word  of  comfort  for  her,  he  did  not 
know.  She  was  greatly  troubled  and  deep  waters 
rolled  over  her  soul.  Who  could  tell  her?  Was 
there  no  one  to  stretch  out  a  helping  hand  ? 

Suddenly  she  thought  of  a  foreign  lady,  a  mis- 


162         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

sionary,  who  was  at  the  time  in  her  own  town,  and 
whose  words  had  once  strangely  stirred  her  heart. 
Perhaps  she  would  come  to  her?  She  did  come 
and  on  her  entering  the  room,  Hindijea,  endued 
with  new  strength  and  wonderful  energy,  sat  up  in 
her  bed  and  called  out  in  a  loud  voice,  her  great 
eyes  shining  like  stars:  "Welcome!  Welcome!  a 
thousand  times  welcome !  I  need  you  now,  can  you 
teach  me  how  to  die  ?  Will  you  come  and  put  your 
hands  on  my  head  and  bring  down  God's  blessing 
upon  me  ?  Surely  you  can  help  me." 

Hindiyea  was  told  just  in  time  the  Way,  the 
Truth,  and  the  Life,  and  went  home  to  God.  Christ 
came  for  others  just  like  her  in  the  great  Moslem 
world.  Who  will  go  to  teach  them  how  to  die 
and  how  to  live? 

There  is  a  general  belief  among  Christians  that 
Moslems  worship  the  One  True  God — the  Almighty 
God;  but  this  is  a  mistake,  they  do  not  worship 
Him  at  all!  They  worship  the  God  who  has  Mo- 
hammed for  his  prophet  and  who  is  he?  Certainly 
not  the  God  and  Father  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

The  call  that  goes  up  from  thousands  of  minarets 
all  over  the  Moslem  world  six  times  a  day — "There 
is  no  God  but  God,  and  Mohammed  is  his  prophet, — 
is  in  direct  conflict  with  the  Word  of  Truth,  that 
we  have  access  to  our  God  through  His  Son,  Jesus 
Christ,  for  they  deny  the  Son, — "and  this  is  the 
record,  that  God  hath  given  to  us  eternal  life,  and 
this  life  is  in  His  Son.  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath 


SKETCHES   IN    PALESTINE     163 

life,  and  he  that  hath  not  the  Son  of  God  hath  not 
life"  (i  John  v.  n,  12). 

"Who  is  the  liar,  but  he  that  denieth  that  Jesus 
is  the  Christ.  This  is  the  Anti-Christ,  that  denieth 
the  Father  and  the  Son.  Whosoever  denieth  the 
Son  the  same  hath  not  the  Father:  he  that  con- 
fesseth  the  Son  hath  the  Father  also"  (i  John  ii. 
22,  23). 

In  direct  contradiction  to  this  teaching  of  the 
New  Testament  is  Chapter  CXII  of  the  Koran, 
which,  in  Sale's  translation,  is  as  follows :  "My  God 
is  one  God,  the  eternal  God,  He  begetteth  not, 
neither  is  He  begotten,  and  there  is  not  any  one  like 
unto  Him."  Also  in  Chapter  XIX :  "It  is  not  meet 
for  God  that  he  should  have  any  Son,  God  forbid !" 
Chapter  CXII  is  held  in  particular  veneration  by  the 
Mohammedan  world  and  declared  by  the  tradition 
of  their  prophet  to  be  equal  in  value  to  a  third  part 
of  the  whole  Koran.  Wherever  Islam  prevails,  or 
exists,  Christ  is  denied  to  be  the  Son  of  God.  All 
Moslems  deny  also  the  death  on  the  Cross  and  the 
resurrection  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

There  is  a  clarion  call  to-day  for  prayer,  prayer 
for  the  Moslem  World.  When  the  Christians  of 
evangelical  lands  begin  to  pray,  the  walls  of  the 
strongholds  of  the  enemy  will  fall,  and  the  chains 
that  have  bound  millions  of  souls  for  one  thousand 
three  hundred  years  will  be  broken. 

Islam's  only  hope  is  to  know  God,  "the  Only  True 
God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  He  has  sent." 


XIII 
ONCE   MORE   IN   PALESTINE 

THE  condition  of  all  Moslem  women  must  neces- 
sarily be  more  or  less  sad  (for  under  the  very  best 
conditions  it  can  never  be  secure),  yet  I  think  that 
the  lot  of  Moslem  women  in  Palestine  compares 
favorably  with  that  of  their  sisters  in  India.  There 
is  less  absolute  cruelty.  There  are  fewer  atrocious 
customs.  The  lot  of  widows  is  easier,  and  girls  are 
not  altogether  despised. 

Polygamy  is  lawful,  yet  this  custom  is  certainly 
decreasing  with  education  and  civilization.  The 
Turks  have  very  seldom  more  than  one  wife.  My 
experience  of  the  officials  who  come  from  Turkey 
to  hold  office  in  Palestine,  both  civil  and  military, 
tells  me  that  it  is  now  the  fashion  among  enlight- 
ened Moslems  to  follow  European  ways  in  the  mat- 
ter of  marriage,  and  I  observe  that,  when  men  are 
educated  and  have  travelled,  they  seldom  care  for  a 
plurality  of  wives. 

However,  among  the  Arabic-speaking  inhabitants 
of  Palestine  men  with  more  than  one  wife,  both 
rich  and  poor,  may  still  be  found. 

Among  the  uneducated  rich  men  (and  by  the  term 
uneducated,  I  mean  those  who  have  not  completed 

164 


ONCE   MORE   IN   PALESTINE     165 

their  studies  in  Egypt  or  Europe)  you  will  often 
find  one  having  two  wives.  Also  among  the  land- 
owners, or  sheikhs  of  villages,  who  travel  from  place 
to  place  to  overlook  their  property,  you  will  be  told 
that  they  have  a  wife  in  each  village  living  with  a 
suitable  retinue  of  servants.  The  Arabic  word  for 
the  second  wife  means  "the  one  that  troubles  me." 
This  word  is  used  in  I  Samuel  i.  in  the  story  of 
Hannah,  and  is  translated  "adversary."  I  know  of 
an  educated  gentleman,  living  in  a  large  city,  who 
added  a  young  bride  to  his  family,  but  his  first  wife 
was  treated  with  every  consideration.  The  rich  can 
afford  to  put  their  wives  in  different  suites  of 
apartments  with  different  servants,  and  by  this 
means  quarrelling  is  prevented ;  but  the  case  is  very 
different  among  the  poor. 

Not  long  ago  a  sad  case  came  under  my  own 
notice.  A  prosperous  pharmacist  was  married  to 
a  very  nice  woman,  and  they  were  a  happy  couple 
with  sons  and  daughters  growing  up  around  them. 
By  degrees,  the  wife  perceived  a  change  in  her  hus- 
band's temper.  If  anything  went  wrong,  he  imme- 
diately threatened  her,  not  with  divorce,  but  to 
introduce  a  second  wife  into  their  happy  home. 
This  threat  he  finally  carried  out,  and  the  wife  had 
the  chagrin  of  welcoming  the  bride,  and  she  was 
obliged  to  behave  pleasantly  over  the  business. 
These  two  women  appear  to  live  in  harmony,  there 
is  no  alternative,  for  over  the  first  wife  Damocles' 
sword  hangs  but  by  a  hair.  But  you  can  imagine 


166         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

the  bitterness  in  her  heart,  her  anger  against  the 
husband,  and  her  hatred  of  the  bride.  You  can 
imagine  also  the  loss  of  respect  for  their  father 
which  the  sons  will  feel. 

Among  the  poorer  classes  it  is  the  usual  thing 
to  find  a  man  with  two  wives.  One  of  these  is  old. 
She  acts  as  housekeeper,  and  is  consulted  and  con- 
sidered by  the  husband.  The  other  is  usually  quite 
a  young  woman,  who  must  obey  the  older  wife  and 
treat  her  as  a  mother-in-law.  These  two  are  gen- 
erally fairly  happy,  and,  as  a  rule,  live  in  peace.  I 
have  seen  a  man  with  three  wives,  all  under  the 
same  roof.  He  acts  impartially  to  all — but  the 
quarrelling  among  themselves  and  among  their 
children  in  his  absence  is  very  sad.  The  effect  of 
polygamy  upon  the  home  is  most  disastrous.  What 
effect  it  may  have  on  the  domestic  happiness  of  the 
man  I  cannot  say,  but  one  can  make  a  guess  and 
that  not  a  very  favorable  one ! 

Divorce  is  easy,  inexpensive,  and  very  prevalent; 
and  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  hear  that  a  man  has 
had  ten  or  eleven  wives  and  that  a  woman  has  had 
eight  or  nine  husbands.  For  an  angry  man  to  say 
the  words,  "I  divorce  you,"  and  to  repeat  them 
three  times,  swearing  an  oath  by  the  Prophet,  is 
enough  to  oblige  the  object  of  his  wrath  to  leave  his 
house;  carrying  with  her  a  bed,  a  pillow,  a  coverlet, 
and  a  saucepan,  together  with  the  clothes  which 
she  had  from  her  own  family  at  her  marriage.  She 
returns  to  her  father's  house,  or  to  the  nearest  rela- 


ONCE   MORE   IN   PALESTINE     167 

tion  she  has,  should  he  be  dead,  until  another  mar- 
riage is  arranged  for  her. 

Among  the  richer  classes  divorce  seldom  occurs; 
and,  if  the  wife  has  children  and  devotes  herself 
to  the  comfort  of  her  husband,  she  may  feel  her 
position  tolerably  secure.  Should  she  fall  ill,  how- 
ever, it  is  rare  that  a  husband  permits  her  to  remain 
in  his  house,  for  he  has  not  promised  to  cherish  her 
in  sickness  and  in  health.  He  will  send  her  to  her 
own  family  till  he  sees  how  the  illness  will  turn; 
and,  more  than  probably,  she  will  be  told  in  less 
than  a  month  that  she  is  divorced,  and  that  her  hus- 
band has  married  another.  How  often  in  our  Pales- 
tine hospitals  do  we  try  to  comfort  and  soothe  the 
poor  sick  women  in  their  feverish  anxiety  to  get 
well,  for  fear  of  this  dreaded  Damocles'  sword  fall- 
ing on  their  unhappy  heads ! 

Among  the  poorer  classes  divorce  is  extremely 
prevalent.  If  a  woman  has  no  child,  she  is  imme- 
diately divorced,  and  is  returned  to  her  own  family, 
who  arrange  for  a  second  marriage,  generally  in 
about  ten  days  from  the  time  she  is  divorced. 
Should  she  again  have  no  child,  her  lot  will  indeed 
be  a  sad  one.  She  must  then  be  content  to  be  the 
wife  of  some  blind  or  crippled  man,  who,  perhaps, 
will  also  exact  a  sum  of  money  from  her  relations 
for  his  charity  in  marrying  her.  If  a  woman  be 
divorced  after  she  has  had  children,  she  must  leave 
them  with  the  husband,  to  be  probably  harshly 
treated  by  her  successor  or  successors.  If  the  father 


168         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

dies,  the  children  are  supported  by  his  brothers  or 
relations,  while  the  widow  marries  again.  It  is  sel- 
dom that  a  widow  is  permitted  to  take  a  child,  or 
children,  to  her  new  home.  There  is  no  difficulty 
in  providing  for  orphan  girls ;  they  are  much  sought 
after  in  marriage,  for  the  law  excuses  a  young  man 
from  foreign  military  service  if  he  can  prove  that 
his  wife  is  an  orphan.  This  means  that  he  would 
not  be  able  to  leave  her  alone  during  his  absence. 
Such  orphans  are  generally  taken  into  the  houses  of 
their  future  husbands  as  little  tiny  girls  of  four  or 
five  years  old,  where  they  are  trained  by  the  mother- 
in-law,  and  grow  up  as  daughters.  By  this  means 
the  husband  is  exempt  from  paying  any  sum  of 
money  for  his  bride. 

We  must  not  forget  that  the  marriages  of  Mos- 
lems are  wholly  without  affection,  and  that  the  only 
way  in  which  the  husband  can  enforce  obedience 
from  his  ignorant  and  listless  wife  is  by  the  law  of 
divorce.  She  will  obey  him  and  work  for  him 
simply  from  the  fear  of  being  turned  away.  When 
a  woman  has  been  divorced  four  or  five  times,  she 
finds  a  difficulty  in  getting  a  husband;  for  the  re- 
port spreads  that  it  "takes  two  to  make  a  quarrel," 
that  her  tongue  is  too  sharp  arid  her  temper  too 
short.  I  have  been  asked  what  becomes  eventually 
of  the  woman  who  has  been  frequently  divorced. 
Finally  she  remains  with  the  old  or  very  poor  man 
who  has  married  her  in  her  old  age.  Or,  possibly, 
if  she  is  a  widow  with  a  grown-up  son,  he  will  sup- 


ONCE    MORE    IN    PALESTINE     169 

port  her  until  death  relieves  him  of  what  he  feels 
to  be  only  a  burden.  The  insecurity  of  a  Moslem 
wife's  position  quite  precludes  any  improvement  in 
herself,  her  household  arrangements,  or  in  her  chil- 
dren's training.  She  does  not  care  to  sew,  or  to 
take  an  interest  in  her  husband's  work.  She  does 
not  economize,  or  try  to  improve  his  position,  for 
fear  that,  if  he  should  find  himself  with  a  little  spare 
money,  he  would  immediately  enlarge  his  borders 
by  taking  another  wife!  Therefore,  a  Moslem 
woman's  house  is  always  poor-looking  and  untidy. 
She  keeps  her  husband's  clothes  the  same,  that  he 
may  not  be  able  to  associate  with  wealthy  men  and 
envy  their  pleasures.  Here  we  see  the  wide  gulf  be- 
tween Christianity  and  Islam.  The  wife,  whom 
God  gave  to  be  the  "help,"  and  whose  price  is  far 
above  rubies,  has  been  debased  by  the  prophet  Mo- 
hammed, into  the  "chattel"  to  be  used,  and  when 
worn  out,  thrown  away! 

The  Christian  woman's  home  in  Palestine  is  gen- 
erally clean  and  tidy.  Her  interests  are  identical 
with  those  of  her  husband.  She  is  glad  to  work 
to  help  the  man,  that  the  position  of  both  may  be 
improved. 

I  do  not  think  the  rich  man  ill-treats  his  wife.  I 
have  found  him  invariably  kind  and  indulgent.  In 
Palestine  the  women  have  plenty  of  liberty.  It  is 
a  mistake  to  say  that  they  are  shut  up.  To  begin 
with,  they  live  in  large  houses  with  gardens  and 
courtyards  enclosed.  They  go  out  visiting  one 


170         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

another,  to  the  public  baths,  and  to  the  cemetery 
regularly  once  a  week,  where  they  meet  and  com- 
mune with  the  spirits  of  departed  friends. 

The  girls  go  to  school  regularly.  The  richer 
Moslems  have  resident  governesses  for  their  daugh- 
ters, and  they  are  eager  for  education.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  the  customs  are  changing.  Educa- 
tion is  raising  the  woman,  and  the  man  will  natu- 
rally appreciate  the  change  and  will  welcome  com- 
panionship and  culture.  To  educate  both  men  and 
women  is  the  best  way  of  checking  the  evil  system 
of  polygamy,  and  its  daughter,  divorce.  Polygamy 
was  promulgated  by  the  Prophet  as  a  bribe  to  the 
carnal  man.  Without  that  carnal  weapon  I  doubt  if 
Islam  had  numbered  a  thousand  followers !  It  min- 
isters to  self -gratification  in  this  world,  and  promises 
manifold  more  of  the  same  license  in  the  world  to 
come.  It  is  small  wonder  that  when  we  speak  of  a 
clean  heart  and  a  right  spirit  without  which  we 
cannot  enter  the  spiritual  kingdom,  our  words  are 
unintelligible.  But  that  is  our  theme.  Holiness, 
without  which  no  man  can  see  the  Lord!  These 
poor  women  are  so  ignorant.  They  know  that  sin 
has  entered  into  the  world,  but  they  know  not  Him 
who  has  destroyed  the  power  of  sin.  They  have 
never  heard  the  words,  "Fear  not,  I  have  redeemed 
thee."  .  .  . 

The  following  are  the  words  of  another  writer : 
Never  believe  people  who  tell  you  Moslem  women 
are  happy  and  well-off.     I  have  lived  among  them 


ONCE   MORE   IN    PALESTINE     i/i 

for  nearly  eighteen  years  and  know  something  of 
their  sad  lives. 

A  Moslem  girl  is  unwelcome  at  her  birth  and 
oppressed  throughout  her  life.  When  a  child  is 
born  in  a  family  the  first  question  asked  is,  "Is  it 
a  boy  or  girl?"  If  the  answer  is,  "A  boy,"  congrat- 
ulations follow  from  friends  and  neighbors.  But  if 
the  answer  is,  "A  girl,"  all  commiserate  the  mother 
in  words  such  as,  "God  have  mercy  on  thee." 

As  the  little  one  grows  up  she  has  to  learn  her 
place  as  inferior  to  her  brothers,  and  that  she  must 
always  give  in  to  them  and  see  the  best  of  every- 
thing given  to  them. 

I  am  glad  to  say  that  Christian  missions  have 
made  it  possible  for  her  to  go  to  school  if  she  lives 
in  a  town.  But  at  the  age  of  ten  she  is  probably 
taken  away  from  her  mother,  the  only  real  friend 
she  is  likely  to  have  in  the  world,  and  sold  by  her 
male  relations  into  another  family  where  she  be- 
comes what  is  virtually  a  servant  to  her  mother-in- 
law.  We  know  that  mothers-in-law  even  in  Eng- 
land have  not  always  a  good  name,  but  what  may 
they  be  to  a  young  girl  completely  under  their  power  ? 
Many  are  the  sad  stories  I  have  heard  of  constant 
quarrelling,  followed  on  the  part  of  the  little  bride 
by  attempts  to  run  away  to  her  old  home,  and  the 
advent  of  her  relations  on  the  scene  of  strife,  to 
patch  up  a  reconciliation  and  induce  the  girl  to  sub- 
mit to  her  fate. 

Perhaps  you  say,  "Why  does  her  husband  not 


172         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

protect  his  wife  from  unkindness,  does  he  not  care 
for  her?"  There  you  strike  upon  the  root  of  a  Mos- 
lem woman's  unhappiness.  The  boy  husband  has  no 
choice  in  his  bride,  has  probably  never  set  eyes  on 
her  until  the  marriage  day.  He  seems  to  care  little 
about  her  beyond  making  use  of  her.  She  is  to  be 
his  attendant  to  serve  him  and  provide  him  with 
sons.  As  to  the  first,  I  have  watched  one  of  these 
girls  in  a  merchant's  house  in  Jerusalem  standing  in 
attendance  on  her  young  husband's  toilet,  handing 
him  whatever  he  wanted,  and  folding  up  his  thrown- 
off  clothes.  But  I  looked  in  vain  for  the  least  sign 
of  kindly  recognition  of  her  attentions  from  him  in 
look  or  word  or  deed.  The  Moslem  thinks  it  be- 
neath his  dignity  to  speak  to  his  wife  except  to  give 
orders,  and  does  not  answer  her  questions.  It  is  not 
customary  for  them  to  sit  down  to  meals  together, 
and  as  for  going  for  a  walk  together  it  would  be 
scandalous !  One  must  not  even  ask  a  man  after  his 
wife  in  public  and  she  may  not  go  out  to  visit 
friends  without  his  permission,  and  then  veiled  so 
thickly  as  to  be  unrecognizable.  The  higher  her 
social  rank  the  greater  the  seclusion  for  a  Moslem 
woman. 

Then,  as  to  her  motherhood.  The  young  wife's 
thoughts  are  continually  directed  to  the  importance 
of  pleasing  her  husband  and  avoiding  the  corporal 
punishment  which  accompanies  his  anger.  If  she 
does  not  bear  him  a  son  she  is  in  danger  of  divorce 
or  of  the  arrival  of  a  co-wife  brought  to  the  house. 


ONCE    MORE    IN    PALESTINE     173 

It  is  strange  that  the  latter  trial  seems  to  be  faced 
preferably  to  the  former,  which  is  a  great  disgrace. 

A  Moslem  wife  has  no  title  until  she  has  a  son, 
and  then  she  is  called  the  "mother  of  so-and-so," 
instead  of  being  called  by  the  name  of  her  husband. 
But  she  soon  regrets  the  day  he  was  born,  for  he 
defies  her  authority  and  repulses  her  embraces.  I 
have  seen  a  boy  of  four  years  old  go  into  the  street 
to  bring  a  big  stone  to  throw  at  his  mother  with 
curses !  The  mothers  soon  age.  Their  chief  pleas- 
ures are  smoking  and  gossip. 

Their  religion  is  very  scanty.  Some  know  the 
Moslem  form  of  worship  with  its  prostrations  and 
genuflexions.  Most  of  them  know  the  names  of  the 
chief  prophets,  including  that  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
believe  that  Mohammed's  intercession  will  rescue 
them  from  hell.  I  once  asked  a  rich  Moslem  lady 
what  was  woman's  portion  in  paradise,  but  she  did 
not  know. 

Does  this  little  description  stir  your  pity?  Are 
we  to  leave  these,  our  sisters,  alone  to  their  fate? 
To  suffer  not  only  in  this  life  but  also  in  the  life 
to  come  ?  If  you  saw  their  daily  life,  and  knew  the 
peace  of  GOD  yourself,  I  think  you  would  want  to 
do  something  to  cheer  them,  by  telling  them  Christ 
loves  them  too,  and  that  there  is  a  great  future  be- 
fore them  in  Him  and  His  Gospel. 


XIV 
MOHAMMEDAN  WOMEN  IN  SYRIA 

SYRIA  is  one  of  the  countries  bound  down  by  the 
heavy  chain  which  Mohammedanism  binds  on  the 
East.  The  weight  of  this  chain  presses  most  heavily 
on  that  which  is  weakest  and  least  capable  of  re- 
sistance, and  that  means  the  hearts  of  the  women 
who  are  born  into  this  bondage. 

There  are  probably  from  1,200,000  to  1,500,000 
Mohammedans  in  Syria,  and  this  estimate  also  in- 
cludes the  sects  of  the  Nusairiyeh  (the  mountain 
people  in  North  Syria),  the  Metawileh,  and  the 
Druzes,  who,  though  differing  in  many  ways  from 
the  true  Mohammedans,  are  yet  classed  with  them 
politically.  When  the  word  "Christian"  is  used  in 
this  chapter  it  should  be  understood  as  distinguish- 
ing a  person  or  a  sect  which  is  neither  Jew,  Druse, 
or  Mohammedan,  and  does  not  necessarily  imply,  as 
with  us,  a  true  spiritual  disciple  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

Our  purpose  is  to  show  the  condition  of  the  Mo- 
hammedan and  Druze  women  in  Syria  to-day  as  far 
as  it  has  been  possible  to  ascertain  the  facts  which 
have  been  gleaned  from  those  most  qualified  to  give 
them.  From  a  casual  survey  one  may  very  likely 

174 


MOHAMMEDAN  WOMEN  IN  SYRIA     175 

come  to  the  conclusion  that  conditions  in  Syria  are 
better  and  the  lives  of  the  women  brighter  than  their 
co-religionists  in  other  Mohammedan  lands.  There 
are  happy  homes  (or  so  they  seem  at  first  sight) 
where  there  is  immaculate  cleanliness,  where  the 
mother  looks  well  after  the  ways  of  her  household 
and  her  children,  is  ready  to  receive  her  husband  and 
kiss  his  hand  when  he  returns  from  his  work,  where 
there  is  but  one  wife,  and  a  contented  and  indulgent 
husband  and  father.  When  you  come  to  look  more 
closely  you  will  find  in  almost  every  case  that  more 
or  less  light  has  come  into  these  homes  from  Chris- 
tian teaching  or  example.  There  are  many  instances 
on  record  of  Mohammedan  men  testifying  that  the 
girls  trained  in  Christian  schools  make  the  best 
wives.  More  than  once  have  they  come  to  thank 
and  bless  the  Protestant  teachers  who  have  taught 
to  their  pupils  such  lessons  of  neatness,  gentleness, 
obedience,  and  self-control.  There  are  many  Mo- 
hammedan men  who  are  worthy  to  have  refined, 
educated  wives,  and  can  appreciate  the  blessing  of 
the  homes  such  are  capable  of  making.  On  the 
other  hand,  however,  there  is  a  very  large  proportion 
who  need  to  be  educated  themselves  in  order  to  know 
how  to  treat  such  women  and  who  have  the  deserved 
reputation  of  being  brutal,  sensual,  unspeakably  vile 
in  language  and  behavior.  Many  of  these  belong  to 
the  better  class  in  the  large  inland  cities.  The 
women  who  are  at  the  mercy  of  the  caprices  and 
passions  of  such  men  are  very  greatly  to  be  pitied. 


176         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

In  the  towns  along  the  coast,  where  there 
is  more  enlightenment;  the  women  have  more 
freedom  and  seem  outwardly  happier  than  those 
who  are  more  strictly  secluded  in  the  towns  where 
Mohammedanism  is  the  predominant  influence. 
Freedom,  however,  is  used  as  a  comparative  term, 
for  the  following  was  told  to  me  to  show  what 
privileges  are  accorded  under  that  name  to  the 
upper-class  women  in  one  of  the  smaller  coast 
cities.  They  are  allowed  to  go  often,  every  day 
if  they  like,  and  sit  by  the  graves  in  the  Mo- 
hammedan cemetery.  When  you  consider  the  fact 
that  they  are  shrouded  in  their  long  "covers"  or 
cloaks,  with  faces  veiled,  and  that  the  cemetery  is 
not  a  cheerful  place,  to  say  the  least,  and  that  it  is  the 
only  place  where  they  are  allowed  to  go,  this  so- 
called  "freedom"  does  not  seem  to  be  so  very  won- 
derful, after  all.  However,  it  is  far  better  than  being 
shut  indoors  all  the  time. 

Any  one  living  among  these  people  becomes  gradu- 
ally accustomed  to  the  accepted  state  of  things,  espe- 
cially when  one  has  learned  that  outside  interference 
only  makes  matters  worse,  and  it  is  only  now  and 
then  when  some  especially  sad  or  heart-rending  thing 
comes  to  your  knowledge  that  you  realize  how  truly 
dreadful  the  whole  system  is.  The  other  day  I  was 
talking  about  this  with  a  friend  whose  knowledge  of 
Mohammedan  women  had  been  confined  to  a  few 
families  who  on  the  outside  would  compare  very 
favorably  with  Christian  families  she  knew,  as  re- 


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MOHAMMEDAN  WOMEN  IN  SYRIA     177 

gards  comfort,  cleanliness,  and  contentment.  I 
agreed  with  her  that  there  were  many  of  the  nominal 
Christian  families  where  there  certainly  was  great 
unhappiness.  But  one  must  not,  in  comparing  the 
two,  lose  sight  of  the  bitterest,  darkest  side.  No 
Christian  woman  has  to  contend  with  the  fact  that 
if  her  husband  wearies  of  her,  or  some  carelessness 
displeases  him,  he  is  perfectly  at  liberty  to  cast 
her  off  as  he  would  toss  aside  an  old  shoe.  In  fact 
he  would  use  the  same  expression  in  speaking  of  his 
shoe,  of  a  dog,  some  loathsome  object,  the  birth  of 
a  daughter  or  of  his  wife, — an  expression  of  apology 
for  referring  to  such  contaminating  subjects.  Nor 
does  a  Christian  woman  fear  that  as  the  years  pass 
and  her  beauty  .fades,  or  her  husband  prospers,  that 
one  day  he  will  cause  preparations  to  be  made  and 
bring  a  new  wife  home.  The  Mohammedans  have 
a  proverb  that  a  man's  heart  is  as  hard  as  a  blow 
from  the  elbow,  and  that  his  love  lasts  not  more  than 
two  months. 

A  Mohammedan  friend  was  telling  me  of  a 
woman  she  knew  and  was  fond  of.  "She  was  a 
good  wife  and  mother,"  she  said,  "and  she  was 
very  happy  with  her  two  children,  a  boy  and  a 
girl ;  her  husband  seemed  to  love  her,  for  she  is  not 
old,  and  it  was  a  great  surprise  to  her  when  he  told 
her  one  day  that  he  was  going  to  marry  another 
wife,  for  she  had  forgotten  that  it  might  be.  He 
said  he  would  take  a  separate  room  for  the  new 
wife.  She  said  nothing — what  could  she  say  ?  But 


OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

he  deceived  her,  for  he  only  took  the  room  for  the 
new  wife  for  one  week,  and  then  he  brought  her  to 
live  with  the  first  wife.  And  now  she  weeps  all  the 
time,  and  oh !  how  unhappy  they  all  are !  I  tell  her 
not  to  weep,  for  her  husband  will  weary  of  her  and 
divorce  her."  A  shadow  crossed  the  face  of  my 
friend  as  she  spoke,  and  I  could  see  she  was  thinking 
of  her  own  case,  and  fearing  the  fear  of  all  Mo- 
hammedan women.  "Why  did  that  man  take  an- 
other wife  when  he  was  happy  and  had  children?" 
I  asked,  for  I  knew  that  where  there  are  no  children 
a  man  feels  justified  in  divorcing  his  wife,  or  taking 
a  second,  third,  or  fourth.  "He  wanted  more  chil- 
dren. Two  were  not  enough." 

Can  there  be  any  real  happiness  for  a  Moham- 
medan woman?  She  gets  little  comfort  from  her 
religion,  although  if  she  is  a  perfectly  obedient  wife, 
attends  faithfully  to  her  religious  duties,  and  does 
not  weep  if  her  child  dies,  she  has  a  hope  that  she 
may  be  one  of  seventy  houris  who  will  have  the 
privilege  of  attending  upon  her  lord  and  master  in 
his  sensual  paradise.  The  idea  of  these  two  horrors, 
divorce  and  other  wives  to  share  her  home,  is  con- 
stantly before  her. 

A  Protestant  woman  recently  told  me  that  she  had 
let  some  of  her  rooms  to  a  Mohammedan  family 
from  Hums.  The  man  was  intelligent  and  the  wife 
was  an  attractive  young  woman  with  a  little  girl. 
The  man  told  her  in  the  presence  of  his  wife  that 
when  he  went  back  to  Hums  he  thought  he  should 


MOHAMMEDAN  WOMEN  IN  SYRIA     179 

take  another  wife.  "Why  do  you  do  that  when 
you  are  so  happy  as  you  are  ?  Think  of  your  wife — 
how  unhappy  it  would  make  her  to  have  you  bring 
in  another!"  The  man  laughed  and  told  her  that 
she  made  a  great  mistake  in  thinking  that  Moham- 
medan women  were  like  Christian  women,  that  they 
did  not  mind  having  another  woman  in  the  house, 
they  were  accustomed  to  it  and  brought  up  to  expect 
it.  "But  I  hope  that  what  I  said  will  make  him 
think  and  perhaps  he  will  decide  not  to  take  another 
wife,  for  I  showed  him  plainly  the  evil  of  it." 

The  women  may  be  brought  up  to  expect  it, — 
they  may  have  been  the  members  of  a  polygamous 
family  themselves, — but  the  human  heart  is  the  same 
the  world  over,  and  the  sanctity  of  the  home  with 
one  wife  is  never  invaded  without  poignant  suffer- 
ing. A  wealthy  Mohammedan  will  establish  each 
of  his  wives  in  a  separate  house,  those  not  able  to 
afford  this  luxury  have  their  harem  in  one  house. 
It  does  not  require  a  very  vivid  imagination  to  be 
able  to  picture  the  inevitable  result :  jealousies,  heart- 
burnings, contentions,  wranglings,  and  worse. 

A  Bible  woman  told  me  of  dreadful  scenes  where 
the  women  fight  like  cats  and  dogs,  and  the  husband 
takes  the  part  of  the  wife  he  loves  the  best  and  beats 
the  others.  One  feels  that  the  man  often  bears  his 
own  punishment  for  this  state  of  things  by  being 
obliged  to  live  amid  such  scenes. 

In  a  city  of  Northern  Syria  where  the  Moham- 
medans are  the  most  powerful  class  and  their 


i8o 

haughtiness  and  contempt  of  women  so  great  that 
they  will  elbow  a  foreign  woman  into  the  gutter, 
not  necessarily  because  she  is  a  Christian,  but  be- 
cause she  is  a  woman,  a  Syrian  woman  whispered 
during  a  walk:  "Look  at  that  man  over  there,  I'll 
tell  you  about  him  later."  And  afterwards  she  ex- 
plained that  the  man  was  a  neighbor  and  he  had 
just  taken  his  fourth  wife,  and  she  was  only  ten 
years  old.  He  was  an  elderly  man  with  gray  hair. 
One  well-known  and  wealthy  Mohammedan  had 
splendid  establishments  in  four  different  places  and 
he  is  said  to  have  had  thirty  sons.  Another  brought 
home  an  English  wife,  with  whom  he  had  lived  ten 
years  in  England,  and  established  her  in  an  apart- 
ment just  above  the  one  in  which  one  of  several 
wives  was  living.  Could  English  girls  realize  the 
misery  in  store  for  them  in  marrying  Mohammedan 
husbands,  they  would  be  thankful  for  any  warning. 
Even  if  the  husband  himself  is  kind,  there  are  many 
painful  things  to  undergo  from  his  women  relatives. 
And  worse  than  all  is  the  denying  of  Christ  before 
men  in  the  acceptance  of  Islam.  One  of  these  Eng- 
lish women  living  in  Syria  as  the  wife  of  a  Moham- 
medan, had  her  daughter  married  to  an  own  cousin 
at  the  age  of  thirteen,  another  was  obliged  to  give 
her  ten-year-old  daughter  in  marriage.  I  asked  this 
last  woman  how  she  could  do  such  a  thing.  "It  is 
her  father's  will  and  I  could  do  nothing."  But  she 
ran  away  the  next  day,  so  the  man  divorced  her. 
This  same  daughter  has  been  married  and  divorced 


twice  since  then,  and  is  now  living  at  home,  and  is 
at  the  head  of  a  Mohammedan  school  for  girls. 
Two  other  sisters  have  been  divorced,  and  are  at 
home,  one  with  her  child. 

In  Beirut,  among  the  better  classes  girls  are  not 
married  as  young  as  they  used  to  be,  though  occa- 
sionally you  hear  of  instances,  as  in  the  case  of  a 
woman  who  had  eight  daughters  and  married  two 
of  them,  twins,  at  the  age  of  eight.  She  gained 
nothing  by  this  cruel  act  as  they  were  soon  divorced 
and  sent  home.  One  reason  for  child-marriages 
among  Mohammedans  in  Syria  is  the  conscription 
which  demands  for  the  army  every  young  man  of 
eighteen.  The  one  who  cannot  afford  to  escape 
conscription  by  paid  substitutes  or  money  may  be 
exempt  if  he  has  a  wife  dependent  upon  him.  When 
he  is  sixteen  or  seventeen  his  family  send  off  to  some 
distant  town  for  a  young  girl  who  is  a  destitute 
orphan,  and  this  child  is  married  to  the  youth, — 
she  may  be  ten  years  old,  or  nine,  or  even  eight,  and 
cases  are  known  where  a  girl  of  seven  has  been 
married  to  a  boy  of  sixteen. 

One  can  hardly  wonder  that  many  of  these  girls 
are  divorced,  for  they  are  simply  untrained,  naughty 
children,  unable  to  grasp  what  the  duties  of  a  wife 
are,  or  that  it  is  necessary  to  please  their  husbands 
or  conciliate  their  mothers-in-law.  Mohammedan 
women  say  that  the  happiness  of  a  child-wife  and  her 
status  in  the  family  depend  almost  entirely  upon 
her  mother-in-law.  It  is  a  sad  fact  that  these  little 


1 8a         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

brides — children  in  years — are  very  often  old  in 
knowledge  of  evil.  Most  Mohammedan  children  are 
brought  up  in  an  atmosphere  of  such  talk  that  their 
natures  seem  steeped  in  vulgarity  from  their  cradles 
and  no  mystery  of  life  or  death  is  hidden  from  them. 

It  makes  one's  heart  sick  to  think  of  these  chil- 
dren, so  sinned  against  and  so  cruelly  treated  for 
being  the  products  of  this  system.  Sad  stories  are 
told  of  those  who  are  put  out  to  service,  especially 
when  they  go  to  Turkish  families.  It  is  not  very 
common,  fortunately,  for  there  is  always  the  fear 
that  the  men  in  the  family,  regarding  them  as  law- 
ful prey,  will  ill-treat  them.  Girls  disgraced  in  this 
way  have  a  terrible  fate. 

A  friend  came  to  us  one  day,  weeping  because  of  a 
dreadful  thing  which  had  just  come  to  her  knowl- 
edge, too  late,  alas !  for  any  help  to  be  given.  The 
daughter  of  a  neighbor,  a  poor  man,  had  been  sent 
out  to  service,  and  the  worst  befell  her.  She  was 
sent  home  in  disgrace, — her  father  was  obliged  to 
receive  her,  but  he  would  not  recognize  her  or  have 
anything  to  do  with  her  till  one  day  he  ordered  her 
to  go  out  into  the  garden  and  dig  in  a  spot  he  indi- 
cated. Each  day  he  came  to  see  what  she  had  ac- 
complished, till  at  last  there  was  a  hole  deep  enough 
for  her  to  stand  in,  her  full  height.  Her  father  then 
called  his  brothers,  they  brought  lime,  poured  it 
over  her,  and  then  buried  the  child  alive  in  the  hole 
she  herself  had  dug.  She  was  only  twelve  years 
old !  The  neighbors  found  it  out  and  informed  the 


MOHAMMEDAN  WOMEN  IN  SYRIA     183 

government.  The  parents  and  all  concerned  were 
imprisoned,  and  the  father  is  still  in  prison,  though 
the  mother  has  been  released. 

The  feeling  is  strong  that  such  a  disgrace  can 
only  be  wiped  out  by  death,  and  this  is  especially 
the  case  when  there  has  been  misconduct  between  a 
Mohammedan  man  and  a  Christian  woman.  In  a 
Syrian  city  a  Christian  girl  of  aristocratic  family 
was  betrothed  and  was  soon  to  be  married  when 
suddenly  the  engagement  was  broken.  It  could  no 
longer  be  hidden  that  she  had  been  guilty  of  wrong 
relations  with  some  man,  and  the  man  proved  to 
have  been  a  Mohammedan.  This  disgrace  was  in- 
tolerable to  the  families  involved,  and  before  long  a 
man  connected  with  the  family  came  to  the  girl  with 
a  glass  of  liquid,  and  said :  "Here,  drink  this !"  She 
took  it,  drank,  and  died.  Comments  on  it  showed 
that  the  sentiment  of  the  community  is  in  sympathy 
with  such  a  course.  "What  else  could  be  done?" 
they  say. 

Probably  a  Mohammedan  would  not  see  the  in- 
consistency of  condemning  to  death  the  child- 
victim  of  a  man's  lust,  as  in  the  first  instance  given, 
while  practically  the  same  thing  is  legalized  in  allow- 
ing the  marriage  of  children  with  the  probability  of 
a  divorce  in  the  near  future.  How  can  they  hope  for 
the  growth  of  purity  among  their  women,  or  wonder 
when  immorality  and  unchastity  are  discovered !' 

Frequent  reference  has  been  made  to  divorce.  It 
is  the  weapon  always  at  hand  when  a  man  is  dis- 


184         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

satisfied.  His  law  allows  him  to  divorce  his  wife 
twice  and  take  her  back,  but  if  he  divorce  her  the 
third  time,  he  may  not  take  her  back  until  she  has 
been  married  to  another  man  and  divorced  by  him. 
The  ceremony  is  a  simple  one;  repeating  a  formula 
three  times  in  the  presence  of  a  witness  not  a  mem- 
ber of  the  household,  and  telling  the  wife  to  go  to 
her  father. 

A  divorced  wife  must  go  back  to  her  father's 
house,  or  to  her  brother  if  her  father  is  not  living,  or 
to  her  nearest  relative.  If  she  is  friendless  then  she 
has  the  right  to  go  before  the  Mejlis  or  Court,  and 
state  her  case.  She  is  asked  if  she  wishes  to  marry 
again,  and  if  so,  the  Court  must  find  a  husband  for 
her.  If  not,  then  the  husband  is  made  to  support  her. 
If  she  returns  to  live  with  her  friends,  the  husband 
has  to  give  her  one  penny  halfpenny  a  day.  If  there 
are  children  under  seven  they  go  with  the  mother. 
If  they  are  older,  they  are  allowed  to  choose  between 
mother  and  father.  They  are  supported  by  the 
father. 

The  Mohammedans  have  a  saying  that  when  a 
woman  marries  she  is  never  sure  that  she  will  not  be 
returned,  scorned  and  insulted,  to  her  father's 
house  the  next  day;  nor,  when  she  prepares  a  meal 
for  her  husband,  is  she  sure  that  she  will  be  his  wife 
long  enough  to  eat  of  it  herself. 

In  conversation  with  a  Mohammedan  woman  one 
day  we  were  commenting  on  the  fact  that  a  certain 
wealthy  bridegroom  had  given  directions  to  the.  pro- 


MOHAMMEDAN  WOMEN  IN  SYRIA     185 

fessional  who  was  to  adorn  his  bride  for  her  mar- 
riage, not  to  disfigure  her  face  with  the  thick  shining 
paste  which  is  usually  considered  (though  very  mis- 
takenly) to  enhance  her  charms.  He  was  reported 
to  have  said  that  he  wished  to  see  her  face  as  God 
had  made  it.  I  remarked  that  I  thought  it  was  very 
sensible  and  that  I  did  not  see  what  was  ever  gained 
by  disfiguring  a  face  by  plastering  it  with  paint  and 
powders.  The  woman  said :  "But  you  do  not  under- 
stand !  We  do  it  so  that  we  may  be  beautiful  in  our 
husband's  eyes,  for  if  we  are  pale  or  wrinkled  they 
cease  to  love  us  and  go  to  other  women  or  else  they 
divorce  us."  It  is  very  far  from  being  "for  better, 
for  worse, — in  sickness,  in  health." 

It  is  impossible  to  gather  statistics  as  to  the  pro- 
portionate number  of  divorces.  All  the  women  say, 
"It  is  very  common."  The  condition  of  a  divorced 
woman  returned  to  her  father's  house  is  not  an 
enviable  one.  In  some  cases  they  are  kept  on  like 
servants,  living  in  some  out-house  or  stable,  or  in 
some  inferior  room  if  the  house  is  a  grand  one.  It 
has  been  suggested  by  a  writer,  that  the  sight  of  the 
misery  of  these  positionless  women  has  a  strong  in- 
fluence upon  the  young  men  of  the  family,  making 
them  determine  that  they  will  never  have  more  than 
one  wife.  Let  us  hope  that  this  is  true.  From  what 
is  told  me  I  have  learned  that  it  is  not  usually  the 
young  men  who  have  more  than  one  wife,  but  the 
older  ones.  I  must  not  omit  to  say  that  in  the 
smaller  Mohammedan  settlements  where  there  is 


186         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

much  intermarrying  in  families,  there  is  almost  no 
divorce,  for  even  if  a  man  wishes  it,  he  must  be  very 
courageous  to  brave  the  united  wrath  of  the  whole 
circle  of  female  relatives  or  of  his  enraged  uncle  or 
cousin,  who  resents  bitterly  having  his  daughter  sent 
back  to  her  home. 

Among  the  poorer  people,  too,  those  who  have 
come  most  closely  under  my  observation,  divorce  is 
rare  and  no  man  has  more  than  one  wife.  But  they 
are  steeped  in  superstition  and  many  are  so  bigoted 
they  will  not  receive  the  visits  of  the  Bible  woman 
nor  allow  their  children  to  attend  schools.  Fre- 
quently, in  paying  visits,  we  will  find  a  blind  Mo- 
hammedan sheikh  instructing  the  women  in  the 
Koran,  and  some  of  them  have  very  glib  objections 
to  offer  to  the  New  Testament  stories  and  truths 
we  read  to  them.  They  will  often  ask  to  be  read  to, 
but  the  Old  Testament  is  the  favorite  book. 

Among  the  Druzes,  divorce  is  even  more  common 
than  it  is  among  the  true  Mohammedans,  and  the 
state  of  morals  is  very  low.  The  Druzes  are  an  in- 
teresting, even  fascinating  people.  They  live  on  the 
Lebanons  and  inland  on  the  Druze  mountains  of  the 
Hauran,  and  are  a  warlike  independent  race,  of  fine 
physique,  and  most  polished,  courteous  manners. 
Some  of  their  women  are  very  beautiful  and  their 
peculiar  costumes  are  most  becoming  and  pic- 
turesque. They  are  always  veiled,  but  one  eye  is 
uncovered,  and  it  is  second  nature  with  them  to 
draw  their  veils  hastily  across  their  faces  if  a  man 


MOHAMMEDAN  WOMEN  IN  SYRIA     187 

appears  in  sight.  As  was  said  before,  they  are 
classed  with  the  Mohammedans  although  they  have 
their  own  prophet,  Hakim,  and  they  take  pride  in 
having  their  own  secret  religion,  which  is  little  more 
than  a  brotherhood  for  political  purposes.  It  is 
extremely  difficult  to  make  any  real  impression  on 
them. 

At  a  recent  wedding  in  Druze  high  life  in  a 
Lebanon  village  almost  every  woman  present  had 
been  divorced,  and  one  woman  was  exactly  like  the 
Samaritan  woman  who  came  to  the  well  to  draw 
water:  she  had  had  five  husbands,  and  the  one  she 
had  now  was  not  her  husband.  The  hostess  her- 
self, the  bridegroom's  mother,  a  woman  of  fine  pres- 
ence, had  been  divorced,  but  was  brought  back  to 
preside  over  this  important  function,  as  there  was 
no  one  else  to  do  it,  but  her  former  husband  was 
not  present,  as  Druze  law  forbids  a  man  ever  look- 
ing again  on  the  face  of  his  divorced  wife.  Their 
women  are  cast  off  in  a  most  heartless  way,  but 
they  cannot  be  taken  back  again.  The  ceremony 
of  marriage  consists  in  fastening  up  over  a  door  a 
sword  wreathed  with  flowers  and  with  candles  tied 
on  it,  and  then  passing  under  it. 

The  form  of  divorce  is  very  simple.  It  is  illus- 
trated in  the  life  of  a  Druze  prince  who  married  a 
girl  of  high  family,  beautiful  and  of  a  strong  char- 
acter and  fine  mind.  They  were  devoted  to  each 
other,  but  she  had  no  children.  She  had  suspicions 
of  what  was  in  store  for  her,  which  were  realized  one 


188         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

day  when  she  had  been  on  a  visit  to  her  native  vil- 
lage with  her  husband.  They  were  riding  together 
towards  home,  when  they  came  to  a  fork  in  the  road. 

The  prince  turned  and  said :  "Here  is  the  parting 
of  the  way."  She  understood,  and  turned,  weeping, 
back  to  her  father's  house.  The  prince  afterwards 
sent  and  bought  a  beautiful  Circassian  slave,  and 
married  her,  but  she  had  no  children,  and  so  she 
in  turn  was  divorced.  The  prince  had,  contrary  to 
custom,  been  in  the  habit  of  paying  visits  to  the 
house  of  his  first  wife  who  had  been  married  to 
another  man,  and  now  he  obliged  her  second  hus- 
band to  divorce  her.  He  turned  Mohammedan  in 
order  to  be  able  to  take  his  wife  back  again. 

Among  the  Druzes,  the  ladies  of  good  family  are 
secluded  even  more  rigorously  than  in  Moham- 
medan families.  Even  in  the  villages  they  rarely 
leave  their  homes,  going  out  only  at  night  to  pay 
visits  to  women  of  equal  station.  Some  of  them 
have  never  been  outside  of  their  own  doors  since 
they  were  little  girls.  One  girl,  the  daughter  of  an 
Emir,  was  sent  away  to  spend  a  year  in  a  Protestant 
boarding-school.  There  she  was  allowed  to  go  for 
walks  with  the  girls,  attended  the  church  services, 
and  had  a  glimpse  into  a  life  very  different  from  the 
dull  seclusion  which  would  naturally  be  her  lot 
among  her  own  people.  But  she  failed  to  take  home 
the  lessons  taught  her  that  Christ  was  her  Saviour 
and  Friend,  and  would  be  her  help  and  comfort  in 
whatever  was  hard  to  bear.  She  returned  to  her 


MOHAMMEDAN  WOMEN  IN  SYRIA     189 

home  and  soon  learned  that,  although  she  had  been 
allowed  these  unusual  privileges,  she  need  expect 
no  more  liberty  than  her  mother  had  been  allowed 
before  her.  She  found  the  shut-in  life  so  intolerable 
that  she  secretly  ate  the  heads  of  matches  and 
poisoned  herself  so  that  she  sickened  and  died,  hav- 
ing confessed  her  act  and  telling  the  reason. 

There  are  others  among  these  girls  who  have  been 
taught  in  evangelical  schools,  who  have  learned  to 
love  Christ,  whose  faith  is  strong  and  whose  trust 
sustains  them  and  keeps  them  patient  and  cheerful 
amid  very  great  trials  and  even  cruel  treatment  from 
their  husbands,  "Strengthened  in  their  endurance  by 
the  vision  of  the  Invisible  God." 

To  go  back  to  Mohammedan  women.  It  is  sur- 
prising how  exceedingly  ignorant  many  of  them  are, 
even  the  women  of  the  higher  classes  from  whom 
you  might  expect  better  things.  A  visitor  inquired 
of  her  Mohammedan  hostess  if  she  would  tell  her  the 
name  of  the  current  Mohammedan  month.  "I  do 
not  concern  myself  with  such  things,  you  fnust  ask 
the  Effendi."  Their  minds  seem  to  be  blank  except 
in  regard  to  their  relations  to  their  families,  to  sleep- 
ing, eating,  and  diseases,  to  their  clothes,  and  their 
servants,  and  the  current  gossip  of  the  neighbor- 
hood. Formerly  it  was  not  believed  that  girls  were 
capable  of  learning  anything,  and  years  ago  an 
Effendi  in  Tripoli,  when  urged  to  have  his  daugh- 
ter taught  to  read,  exclaimed,  "Teach  a  girl  to  read ! 
I  should  as  soon  try  to  teach  a  cat!"  But  those 


190         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

days  are  passing  and  the  Mohammedans  are  begin- 
ning to  bestir  themselves  in  the  matter  of  educating 
their  girls.  They  are  opening  schools  for  girls  in 
all  the  cities,  though  judging  from  the  attainments 
of  some  of  the  teachers,  the  girls  are  not  taught 
very  much.  When  these  schools  were  first  opened 
in  Beirut,  the  only  available  teachers  were  girls  who 
had  been  in  attendance  on  the  Protestant  schools, 
and  some  of  them  had  only  been  there  a  few  months. 

In  Sidon  there  is  a  large  Mohammedan  school 
for  girls,  where  are  gathered  from  five  to  six  hun- 
dred girls.  The  Koran  is  the  text-book,  reading  and 
writing  are  taught  and  needle- work  has  a  large  place 
in  the  curriculum. 

Years  ago  an  old  Effendi  was  attending  the  ex- 
amination in  Miss  Taylor's  school  for  Mohammedan 
and  Druze  girls.  "My  two  granddaughters  are 
here,"  he  said  to  a  missionary  sitting  beside  him.  "I 
was  instrumental  in  starting  a  school  of  our  own 
for  girls,  and  I  took  my  granddaughters  away  from 
here  and  put  them  in  the  new  school.  One  day  I 
went  to  visit  the  school.  When  I  was  still  at  a  dis- 
tance I  heard  the  teacher  screaming  at  the  girls  and 
cursing  them,  saying,  'May  God  curse  the  beard  of 
your  grandfathers,  you  dogs!'  Now,  I  was  the 
grandfather  of  two  of  those  children  and  I  knew 
they  heard  enough  of  such  language  at  home  with- 
out being  taught  it  at  school,  so  I  brought  them 
back  to  this  good  place." 

The  aim  of  the  Mohammedans  in  their  schools  is 


MOHAMMEDAN  WOMEN  IN  SYRIA     191 

twofold:  being  both  to  benefit  and  train  the  girls, 
making  them  more  companionable,  and  also  to 
fortify  them  against  Christian  teaching.  The  aim 
of  our  work  and  our  teaching  is  more  than  that,  for 
we  desire,  not  only  to  enlarge  the  mental  horizon 
but  to  cultivate  the  heart,  to  open  up  for  them  the 
wellspring  of  true  joy  and  store  their  memories  with 
hymns  of  praise  and  the  inspiring  and  comforting 
words  of  Christ.  But  more  than  all  to  lead  them  to 
accept  for  themselves  their  only  Saviour,  the  Son  of 
God,  who  died  for  them,  who  only  is  the  true 
"Prophet  of  the  Highest,"  whose  mission  is  "to 
give  light  to  them  that  sit  in  darkness  and  in  the 
shadow  of  death."  We  claim  for  these  dear  women 
and  girls  the  liberty  which  their  own  sacred  Koran 
inculcates :  "Let  there  be  no  compulsion  in  religion." 
(From  the  Sura  called  "The  Cow,"  v.  257.) 

And  will  the  favored  Christian  women  of  Eng- 
land, America,  and  Germany,  and  all  free  Christian 
lands  not  join  those  already  on  the  field  either  in 
prayer  or  personal  service,  that  they  may  have  a 
part  in  bringing  many  of  these  Mohammedan 
women,  sweet  and  lovable,  and  capable  of  rising  to 
high  levels  as  many  of  them  are,  out  of  their  "dark- 
ness into  His  Marvellous  Light"  ? 


IF  the  condition  of  women  under  Islam  is  de- 
graded and  wellnigh  hopeless  in  other  parts  of  the 
world,  what  must  be  the  condition  of  such  women  in 
Turkey,  the  seat  of  Moslem  power,  the  centre  of 
the  Caliphate,  with  the  green  flag  of  the  Prophet 
kept  at  Seraglio  Point,  in  Constantinople? 

The  picture  of  woman's  degradation  throughout 
the  Empire  is  black  enough,  yet  gleams  of  light 
play  over  the  blackness,  and  these  gleams  grow 
steadily  stronger  and  more  frequent.  Turkey  not 
only  borders  upon  Europe,  and  thus  is  nearer  to 
Western  civilization  and  its  progress,  but  its  ex- 
tended coast-line  affords  many  ports  of  entry,  to 
which  comes  no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  travel 
and  trade  of  the  world.  Kaiser  William's  railroads 
are  opening  up  the  western  portion  of  the  empire, 
and  cause  a  curious  jumble  of  modern  advance  with 
so-called  fixed  Oriental  ways. 

With  their  parasols  held  low  over  their  heads, 
even  though  the  day  be  cloudy,  or  the  sun  be  set,  the 
veiled  and  costumed  Turkish  women  may  be  seen 
in  crowds  on  Friday,  their  Sabbath,  and  holidays, 
sitting  upon  grassy  slopes,  with  their  children  play- 

192 


BEHIND  THE  LATTICE  IN  TURKEY    193 

ing  about  them.  They  go  in  groups  or  followed  by 
a  servant,  if  from  richer  families,  as  they  are  not 
trusted  to  go  alone.  In  the  interior,  even,  non- 
Moslem  women  are  veiled  almost  as  closely  as  the 
Mohammedans,  when  upon  the  street.  Such  is  the 
power  of  prejudice  that  it  is  not  thought  proper  for 
any  woman  to  be  seen  in  public. 

They  live  behind  their  lattices,  and  woe  to  any 
Christian  house  whose  windows  command  a  view 
into  a  Moslem  neighbor's  premises,  no  matter  how 
distant.  Such  juxtaposition  is  the  reason  for  the 
unsightly  walls  and  lofty  screens  which  disfigure 
many  an  otherwise  beautiful  view,  in  any  part  of 
Turkey.  No  strange  man  may  look  upon  any  Mos- 
lem woman. 

The  slow  but  sure  disintegration  of  these  customs, 
prejudices,  and  superstitions,  is  going  on,  thank  God ! 
Darkness  is  fleeing  before  the  light.  If  the  churches 
of  Christ  will  but  take  the  watchword,  "The  Mos- 
lem world  for  Christ,  in  this  century!"  and  put  all 
needed  resources  of  men  and  means,  consecrated 
energy  and  prayer,  into  the  campaign,  even  the 
False  Prophet  shall  be  vanquished  before  Him  who 
is  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords ! 

I  have  travelled  on  the  railroad  in  Turkey  with 
Moslem  women,  in  the  special  compartment,  where 
in  the  freedom  of  the  day's  travel,  they  have  thrown 
back  their  veils  and  silken  wraps,  showing  their 
pretty  French  costumes  and  the  diamonds  upon 
their  fingers,  as  they  offered  their  Frank  fellow- 


I94 

traveller  cake,  or  possibly  chocolates,  and  have  more 
than  once  felt  the  embarrassment  of  a  missionary 
purse  too  slender  to  allow  of  such  luxuries,  with 
which  to  return  the  compliment.  Once  a  Moslem 
woman  took  from  her  travelling  hand-basket  paper 
and  pencil,  and  proceeded  to  write,  as  I  was  doing! 
Page  after  page  she  wrote,  though  in  just  the  re- 
verse manner  from  our  writing,  and  we  soon  estab- 
lished a  feeling  of  comradeship. 

I  have  been  also  a  deeply  sympathetic  witness  of 
moving  scenes  in  which  the  proverbial  love  of  the 
Turkish  father  for  his  children  could  not  be  con- 
cealed. As  the  train  awaited  the  signal  for  depart- 
ure from  a  station,  one  day,  the  evident  distress  of 
a  pretty  girl  opposite  me,  broke  into  crying.  She 
had  climbed  into  the  corner  by  the  window,  and  the 
guard  had  not  yet  closed  the  door.  Involuntarily 
my  eyes  followed  the  child's  grieved  gaze,  until 
they  rested  upon  a  tall,  gray-bearded  Turkish  offi- 
cer standing  by  the  station,  who  was  evidently  striv- 
ing to  control  his  emotion  answering  to  the  grief  of 
the  child.  Finally  he  yielded  to  the  heart-broken 
crying  of  the  little  one,  and  came  to  the  car  door 
to  speak  soothingly  to  her.  The  young  mother 
sat  stoically  through  it  all,  seemingly  content  with 
her  rich  dress  and  jewels,  and  her  comfortable  ap- 
pointments for  travelling.  Not  so  with  the  father 
and  his  child,  who  were  so  grieved  over  their  com- 
ing separation.  When  finally  the  door  had  been 
slammed  by  the  guard,  and  locked,  and  our  journey 


BEHIND  THE  LATTICE  IN  TURKEY    195 

begun,  some  time  elapsed  before  the  still  grieving 
child  could  be  won  to  take  any  interest  in  the  good 
things  with  which  her  mother  then  sought  to  beguile 
her.  Surely  such  a  human  father,  so  tender  toward 
his  little  child,  could  be  taught  the  love  of  our 
Heavenly  Father  for  each  child  of  His,  which  has 
provided  a  Saviour  for  every  repenting  soul  return- 
ing to  Him !  Thus  the  lion  would  be  changed  into 
the  lamb,  and  the  Turkish  officer,  often  unspeakably 
cruel  to  his  enemies,  would  become  a  man  and  a 
brother  even  to  his  foes. 

Moslem  women,  although  by  the  rules  of  their 
religion  almost  entirely  secluded  from  the  outer 
world,  and  from  all  men  save  those  of  their  own 
families,  are,  nevertheless,  being  powerfully  affected 
by  the  growing  light  of  civilization,  which  has  not 
only  revealed  their  darkness,  but  has  penetrated 
it  to  some  degree,  while  the  burning  glow  and 
love  of  Christianity,  through  zenana  workers  and 
schools,  has  far  more  than  begun  the  work  of 
transformation. 

How  can  mothers  consent  that  their  daughters 
shall  be  sold,  while  yet  children,  to  any  man,  no 
matter  how  old,  who  will  pay  the  price  her  father 
demands  for  her,  when  she  has  learned  even  a  little 
of  the  loving  honor  given  to  his  wife  and  daughter 
by  the  Christian  husband  and  father  ?  How  can  she 
consent  to  see  her  given  in  a  marriage  to  which  her 
approval  has  not  even  been  asked,  or  possibly  where 
it  has  been  refused  ?  Yet,  pity  it  is  that  without  the 


196         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

consent  of  mother  or  girl,  she  may  be  conveyed,  a 
bride,  to  the  house  of  her  lord,  who  has  perhaps 
not  deigned  to  be  present, — and  she  of  course  not, — 
at  the  arrangement  by  their  legal  representatives, 
for  signing  the  contract,  and  fixing  the  amount  of 
dowry  which  she  brings,  or  the  sum  which  he  shall 
give  her  in  case  he  at. any  time  shall  decree  her 
divorce.  This  is  all  that  constitutes  the  marriage 
ceremony  in  Turkey.  I  once  saw  the  arrival  of  a 
Turkish  bride  at  her  bridegroom's  house.  There 
was  no  welcome.  She  alighted  with  a  woman 
friend  from  the  closed  carriage.  Some  one  must 
have  waited  within  the  garden,  for  the  heavy  street- 
gate  opened  at  their  approach,  received  the  women, 
closed  upon  them,  and  the  bride  was  shut  into  her 
husband's  house,  from  all  the  world.  If  she  dis- 
pleases him  in  any  way,  even  if  her  cooking  does 
not  suit  him,  a  word  from  her  husband  suffices  to 
divorce  a  wife,  according  to  Moslem  law.  He  may 
have  as  many  wives  as  he  wishes,  and  another  is 
easily  found. 

Mohammedan  husbands  are  allowed  to  punish 
their  wives  with  blows,  to  enforce  obedience.  A 
whole  town  pervaded  by  these  Turkish  ideas  was 
filled  with  amazement  at  a  burly  non-Moslem  friend 
of  mine,  whose  wife  had  become  a  Christian.  Al- 
though jeered  at  and  ridiculed  by  his  companions 
as  one  who  could  not  make  his  wife  obey  him,  he 
never  lifted  his  hand  against  her,  for  he  loved  her 
too  well.  He  did,  however,  cause  her  great  unhap- 


BEHIND  THE  LATTICE  IN  TURKEY    197 

piness  for  years,  until  the  Spirit  of  God  broke  his 
hard  heart,  and  made  him  also  a  Christian. 

No  Turk  expects  a  woman  to  speak  to  him  in  a 
public  place,  or  if  she  does  he  will  not  raise  his  eyes 
from  the  ground.  A  friend  of  mine  was  in  deep- 
est distress  in  a  lonely  place  in  Turkey,  wringing 
her  hands  and  crying  "Alas!  Alas!"  as  she  saw  a 
man  approaching  her ;  but  Agha  Effendim  gave  her 
no  heed  until  she  walked  straight  up  to  him,  so  sore 
was  her  need,  and  told  him  her  trouble.  Then  his 
heart  was  touched,  and  Mohammedan  Albanian  as 
he  was,  he  rendered  her  the  aid  which  she 
asked. 

Forty  Mohammedan  women,  living  too  distant 
from  Mecca  to  allow  a  pilgrimage  thither,  made 
the  ascent,  one  summer,  of  one  of  the  loftiest  moun- 
tain peaks  in  European  Turkey.  They  did  this  as  a 
religious  duty.  It  was  a  feat  which  required  all  the 
vigor  and  strength  of  an  American  mountain- 
climber,  who  ascended  the  same  peak  some  days 
later.  She  could  not  abandon  the  task,  however, 
which  they  had  accomplished,  whose  feet  knew  only 
the  heelless  slipper  or  the  wooden  clog,  when  about 
their  household  duties,  or  stepped  noiselessly  in  their 
gaily  embroidered  homemade  stockings,  when  in- 
doors. The  Turkish  woman  can  climb.  She  can 
reach  lofty  heights.  Slowly  and  painfully  she  will 
leave  her  dense  ignorance,  her  habits  of  supersti- 
tion, her  jealousies,  and  her  intrigues  behind  her 
and  will  emerge,  led  by  the  loving  hand  of  her 


198         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

Christian  sister,  sometimes  of  her  husband  or  child, 
into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God. 

We  admit  that  ofttimes  the  obstacles  seem  in- 
superable, when  we  meet  the  barrier  of  the  una- 
wakened  life.  What  opportunity  is  there  before 
the  little  mother  but  fourteen  years  old  herself? 
How  shall  she  escape  the  name  which  her  own 
family  perhaps  give  her — "a  cow"?  "Cattle"  is  a 
common  term  for  women.  Her  men-folks  will 
very  likely  hinder  her  education,  in  many  instances, 
but  she  must  be  led  out  of  her  old  life,  along  this 
way.  The  mothers  of  coming  generations,  with 
unlimited  influence  over  their  husband's  inclination 
and  conduct  even  when  set  toward  progress — the 
Turkish  woman  must  be  reached!  Christianity  is 
the  one  means  to  allay  her  superstitions,  her  jealous- 
ies, her  fears,  and  to  give  her  a  true  outlook  upon 
life  and  its  meaning.  The  women  of  Christendom 
must  help  her  who  cannot  help  herself.  The  piti- 
fulness  of  the  condition  of  Turkish  women,  and 
the  difficulty  of  reaching  them,  form  the  challenge 
of  Islam  to  the  Christian  world.  Shall  we  take  up 
the  gauntlet  thrown  down  by  the  Crescent  and  the 
Star,  and  lifting  high  the  banner  of  the  Cross,  go 
forward  in  Christ's  name,  because  God  wills  their 
salvation  as  truly  as  ours,  and  sends  us  to  them  in 
His  name? 

The  influence  of  civilization  is  necessarily  felt 
far  less  in  the  interior  of  Turkey  than  in  the  mari- 
time sections;  yet  here  also,  thanks  to  the  multipli- 


BEHIND  THE  LATTICE  IN  TURKEY    199 

cation  of  schools  and  teachers  and  loving  Christian 
women  trained  in  those  schools,  conditions  are  be- 
ginning to  be  changed.  "In  one  city  of  western 
Turkey,"  we  are  told,  "the  Turks  themselves  asked 
for  a  kindergarten  teacher  from  our  American  mis- 
sion school,  to  open  a  kindergarten  for  them,  and  it 
was  done.  Girls'  schools  have  sprung  up  among  the 
Moslems  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  from  the 
same  influences  which  affected  Greeks  and  Arme- 
nians, though  more  slowly.  Quite  recently  there 
has  been  an  awakening  among  the  Turks  to  the  fact 
that  if  they  would  keep  pace  with  the  march  of  civi- 
lization they  must  provide  for  the  education  of  their 
girls.  So  now,  in  some  of  the  large  cities,  schools 
for  Turkish  girls  have  been  established,  and,  al- 
though the  attendance  is  still  small  and  the  work 
elementary,  yet  it  shows  the  trend  of  opinion,  and 
gives  great  hope  of  soon  bettering  the  condition  of 
women  in  the  empire." 

Another  observer  writes  concerning  more  pro- 
gressive portions  of  Turkey :  "The  power  of  educa- 
tion is  proving  a  sure  disintegrator  to  the  seclusion 
of  Moslem  social  life.  Turkish  women  have  already 
taken  enviable  places  among  the  writers  of  their 
nation.  Others  are  musicians,  physicians,  nurses, 
and  a  constantly  increasing  number  are  availing 
themselves  of  the  educational  facilities  afforded  by 
the  German,  French,  and  other  foreign  institutions 
which  have  been  established  at  Constantinople, 
Smyrna,  and  elsewhere  in  the  Ottoman  Empire. 


200         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

In  the  beautiful  American  College  for  Girls,  on  the 
heights  of  Scutari,  Constantinople,  Turkish  girls, 
as  well  as  those  of  all  nationalities  of  the  Orient 
and  Franks,  eagerly  take  advantage  of  the  course, 
and  a  few  have  graduated  with  honor.  A  far  larger 
number,  however,  are  removed  to  the  seclusion  of 
their  homes  as  they  approach  maidenhood.  On  the 
day  when  the  first  six  girls  from  Moslem  families 
were  received,  more  than  one  of  them  learned  the 
entire  English  alphabet.  What  a  need  for  prayer 
that  the  Spirit  of  God  shall  reach  those  receptive 
young  hearts  from  the  very  first  day,  in  this  and 
every  other  Christian  educational  institution  to 
which  Moslem  girls  turn  their  steps!"  The  most 
tactful  and  consecrated  work  of  their  missionary  or 
native  teachers  must  be  done  every  day,  for  such 
Turkish  girls,  whether  in  more  elementary  schools 
or  in  colleges,  inasmuch  as  the  proverb  of  the  coun- 
try :  "Either  marry  your  daughter  at  sixteen  or  bury 
her!"  is  still  very  much  in  force  beyond  those  lim- 
ited districts  where  the  influence  of  Western  ideas 
has  availed  to  modify  somewhat  the  old  thought. 
What  they  gain  during  the  short  time  when  they 
may  remain  in  school,  must  be  the  food  of  their 
lives,  in  multitudes  of  instances. 

We  know  the  paucity  of  literature  of  all  kinds  in 
Turkey,  where  government  press  regulations  pro- 
hibit any  general  output  of  publications ;  this,  com- 
bined with  the  very  general  poverty  of  the  people, 
makes  many  a  home  bookless,  and  the  great  major- 


BEHIND  THE  LATTICE  IN  TURKEY    201 

ity  of  lives  barren.  Sometimes  in  missionary  tours 
we  have  seen  far  up  on  the  hillside  a  group  of  poor 
peasants  descending.  The  sudden  turning  of  the 
women  of  that  party,  drawing  their  filthy  veils 
closer  across  their  faces  on  hot  July  or  August  days, 
reveals  to  the  passers-by  that  these  are  Moslems. 
They  have  discovered  that  there  are  men  in  the  ap- 
proaching party  of  travellers.  They  may  have  mis- 
taken the  ladies  wearing  hats  as  gentlemen  also.  A 
command  has  evidently  been  given  by  their  lord  and 
master,  at  which  the  women  have  sunk  to  the  ground, 
with  their  backs  to  the  road,  while  still  far  from  it, 
lest  one  of  those  infidel  eyes  should  peer  through 
their  veils,  and  look  upon  their  faces.  Yet  women's 
curiosity  compels  those  hidden  eyes  to  seek  at  least 
a  surreptitious  peep  at  the  foreign  travellers,  and 
they  watch  us  furtively.  Under  such  circumstances 
there  can  be  no  hope  of  any  personal  touch,  save  if 
occasion  might  arise  which  would  allow  a  call  at  the 
hovel  which  constitutes  their  home.  On  one  of  my 
last  journeys  in  Turkey  I  chanced  to  meet  a  Turkish 
soldier  on  a  lonely  mountain  road.  As  I  passed 
him,  walking  in  advance  of  my  horse  and  driver, 
filled  with  no  small  trepidation  at  such  proximity  in 
that  lonely  place,  he  gave  me  no  salutation,  and  I 
confess  to  a  feeling  of  relief  when  I  had  passed  him 
unchallenged.  But  how  that  feeling  changed  to 
remorse  when  my  driver  overtook  me,  and  said  that 
the  soldier  had  stopped  him  to  inquire  if  the  teacher 
who  had  just  gone  by  were  a  doctor,  for  a  little 


202         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

child  of  his  lay  at  home  grievously  ill.  What  an 
opportunity  had  been  missed!  If  he  only  had 
spoken,  the  pitiful  need  in  that  home  would  have 
been  opened  up  to  the  missionary  teacher,  who,  al- 
though not  a  doctor,  would  have  done  what  she 
could  to  relieve  the  little  sufferer,  and  to  comfort 
the  sorrowing  parents.  There  would  have  been  a 
chance  to  bring  to  that  poor,  ignorant  mother  in  her 
miserable  home,  a  token  of  love  and  tenderness  out 
of  the  great  world  of  which  she  knew  nothing. 

One  of  the  most  discouraging  aspects  of  life  in 
Turkey  at  the  present  time,  is  found  in  the  fact  that 
as  men  travel  about  in  their  business  or  professional 
life;  come  into  contact  in  various  ways  with  those 
of  different  views  and  more  advanced  thought  than 
themselves ;  become  influenced  by  them ;  and  mildly 
enthusiastic  to  put  the  new  ideas  into  practice;  they 
are  met  on  the  very  threshold  of  their  homes  by 
their  uncomprehending  and  immovable  wives,  who 
with  horror  refuse  to  allow  the  souls  of  their 
families  to  be  imperilled  by  tolerating  any  such 
heresies.  This  difficulty,  instead  of  being  cause  for 
discouragement,  constitutes  a  powerful  challenge  to 
the  heart  of  Christianity,  to  help  such  an  awaken- 
ing man,  and  to  find  the  dormant  soul  of  this 
woman.  No  opposition  can  long  stand  before  the 
appeal  of  the  Gospel,  when  tactfully,  lovingly,  pray- 
erfully brought  to  bear  upon  such  souls. 

Fatima  Khanum  ("my  Sovereign  Fatima"),  a 
Bible  woman,  seventy  years  old,  finds  the  joy  of  the 


BEHIND  THE  LATTICE  IN  TURKEY    203 

Lord  to  be  still  her  strength,  as  she  goes  from  house 
to  house,  telling  in  her  musical  Turkish  tongue  the 
story  of  God's  love  for  every  man,  and  urges  all  to 
receive  it.  Very  closely  they  get  together  on  a 
wintry  day,  as  visitor  and  visited  gather  about  the 
brazier  of  coals,  and  talk  over  the  wonderful  words 
of  life.  May  God  greatly  multiply  the  number  of 
such  faithful  witnesses  for  Him,  throughout  the 
Turkish  Empire! 

"Evet,  Effendim!"  ("yes,  my  lord!")  frequently 
says  a  missionary  friend  who,  having  learned  the 
Turkish  as  her  missionary  language  when  a  young 
teacher,  still  cherishes  her  love  for  it,  and  sometimes 
uses  it  to  her  best-beloved.  Shall  we  not  say,  Yes, 
Lord !  to  Him  who  died  on  Calvary  for  all,  and  who 
is  "not  willing  that  any  should  perish,"  and  with 
Him  seek  those  "other  sheep,"  and  bring  them  to 
the  fold  of  the  Good  Shepherd?  There  can  be  no 
failure  here,  although  the  church  of  Christ  has  but 
slowly  and  late  come  to  the  realization  that  the 
Mohammedan  world  too,  with  its  millions  of  women 
and  children,  must  be  His.  Hath  not  God  said: 
"Look  unto  Me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the 
earth:  for  I  am  God,  and  there  is  none  else.  .  .  . 
Unto  Me  every  knee  shall  bow"  ? 


XVI 
A  VOICE   FROM   BULGARIA 

I  RECEIVED  some  days  ago  your  letter  asking  for 
something  upon  the  condition  of  Mohammedan 
women  in  Bulgaria.  My  observation  has  been  lim- 
ited, and  I  have  not  had  opportunity  to  learn  from 
others  what  they  had  seen,  except  from  our  dear  old 
Fatima  Hanum,  for  so  many  years  a  Bible  woman 
among  Mohammedan  women. 

Bulgaria  cannot  be  called  Turkey.  Indeed  it  is 
much  freer  from  Turkish  influence  than  Egypt  is. 
There  is  a  free  intercourse  also  between  Turkish, 
Bulgarian,  and  Armenian  women,  which  must  influ- 
ence the  home  life  and  the  views  of  the  Moham- 
medan families.  Most  of  them  would  be  ashamed 
to  take  more  than  one  woman,  and  the  Turkish 
women  are  continually  comparing  their  situation 
and  life  with  that  of  their  Christian  neighbors. 
They  are  sad  not  to  be  able  to  read  and  write,  and 
they  try  to  give  their  daughters  a  better  education. 
But  as  they  see  that  their  (orthodox)  Bulgarian 
neighbors  care  more  for  instruction  than  for  religion 
and  real  education,  they,  of  course,  cannot  under- 
stand till  now,  that  religion  is  the  root  of  culture. 

Polygamy  is  by  no  means  prevalent  among  the 
204 


A  VOICE   FROM   BULGARIA     205 

Mohammedans  of  Bulgaria,  indeed  it  is  very  rare 
that  a  man  has  more  than  one  wife,  but  these  few 
exceptions  are  productive  of  great  misery.  Divorce 
for  very  trivial  reasons  is  not  uncommon,  but  there 
has  recently  occurred  under  my  eye  a  case  of  happy 
reconciliation  and  restoration  through  the  influence 
of  Christian  friends. 

The  Mohammedan  woman  of  Bulgaria  shares  to 
a  degree  the  freedom  of  her  Bulgarian  sisters,  is  a 
power  in  the  home,  and,  especially  if  the  mother 
of  grown  sons,  is  much  respected  and  considered. 
But  ignorance  is  her  curse.  Here  and  there  >  one 
finds  a  grown  woman  able  to  read,  but  the  mass 
are  content  to  let  their  girls  go  to  school  for  a  few 
years  and  then  gradually  forget  all  they  have 
learned.  But  still  I  have  known  some  keenly  inter- 
ested in  the  reading  of  Scripture.  I  recall  one  visit 
in  a  roomful  of  women  at  the  festival  of  Bairam, 
when  a  young  girl  attracted  by  the  Injil  Sherif — the 
New  Testament — in  the  hands  of  the  Bible  woman, 
opened  it  and  read  aloud  the  whole  of  the  eighteenth 
chapter  of  Luke  to  that  roomful  of  deeply  interested 
listeners.  As  she  finished,  clasping  the  book  to  her 
heart,  she  exclaimed:  "Oh,  give  me  this  wonderful 
book,  I  must  read  it  all."  When  we  left  she  fol- 
lowed me  to  the  door,  reminding  us  earnestly  of  our 
promise  to  send  her  a  book  soon.  We  know  that  the 
book  was  much  read. 

Another  girl  of  seventeen,  whom  Fatima  Hanum 
had  taught  not  only  to  read  but  to  love  the  Book, 


206         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

found  great  comfort  in  the  prayers  and  Christian 
sympathy  of  this  same  dear  friend  during  a  long 
illness.  On  her  death-bed  she  said  to  her  mother : 
"We  have  lived  in  darkness,  but  there  is  light  and  I 
have  seen  it!" 

We  believe  the  light  is  beginning  to  glimmer  in 
more  than  one  Mohammedan  home  in  Bulgaria.  In 
this  city,  as  in  many  others,  Mohammedan  women 
are  accustomed  to  spend  Friday,  whenever  the 
weather  will  permit,  under  the  trees  in  some  pleas- 
ant spot,  and'Fatima  Hanum  with  her  Bible  is 
a  familiar  figure  among  them — indeed  they  often 
send  word  to  her :  "We  are  going  out  for  the  day. 
Come  with  us  and  bring  the  Book." 

In  a  recent  tour  I  was  a  welcome  guest  in  several 
Turkish  homes,  and  warm  approval  was  expressed 
by  the  women  of  their  Protestant  neighbors — only 
one  failing  was  regretted — "they  eat  pork,"  but 
even  they  acknowledged  that  it  wasn't  so  bad  as  tell- 
ing lies,  and  saying  unkind  things  about  each  other ; 
and  they  begged  me  to  come  again  and  read  to  them 
from  our  Great  Teacher's  Book. 


XVII 
DARKNESS   AND   DAYBREAK  IN   PERSIA 

ONE  can  never  forget  the  first  sight  of  a  Moslem 
woman — that  veiled  figure,  moving  silently  through 
the  streets,  so  enshrouded  that  face  and  form  are 
completely  concealed.  Men  and  women  pass  each 
other  with  no  greeting  or  token  of  recognition,  and 
if  a  wife  accompanies  her  husband,  she  never  walks 
beside  him,  but  at  a  respectful  distance  behind,  and 
neither  gives  a  sign  that  they  belong  together. 

A  woman's  first  instinct  is  to  efface  herself.  Even 
the  poor,  washing  clothes  in  the  street  at  the  water- 
course, pull  their  tattered  rags  over  their  faces.  The 
Persian  expression  for  women,  "those  who  sit  be- 
hind the  curtain,"  shows  that  their  place  is  silence 
and  seclusion.  When  the  closed  carriage  of  a  princess 
passes,  her  servants,  galloping  before,  order  all  men 
to  turn  their  faces  to  the  wall,  though  all  they  could 
possibly  see  would  be  carefully  veiled  figures.  The 
beggar  sitting  on  the  ground  at  the  street  corner  is 
equally  invisible  under  her  cotton  chader,  as  with 
lamentable  voice  she  calls  for  mercy  on  the  baby  in 
her  arms. 

During  the  month  of  mourning,  we  often  pass  a 
brilliantly  lighted  mosque,  where  men  sit  sipping 

207 


208         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

tea  or  smoking,  listening  to  the  tale  of  the  death  of 
their  martyrs,  but  crouching  on  the  stony  street  out- 
side in  the  darkness,  a  crowd  of  women  are  strain- 
ing their  ears  to  catch  what  they  can.  Such  are 
the  passing  glimpses  one  gets  of  the  Persian  woman 
in  public. 

Her  real  life  is  lived  in  the  "harem."  We  realize 
its  meaning,  "the  forbidden,"  when  after  passing 
through  the  imposing  street  gate,  and  the  outer 
court  where  are  the  men's  apartments,  we  are  con- 
ducted to  a  curtained  door,  guarded  by  a  sentinel, 
who  summons  an  old  eunuch  to  lead  us  through  a 
dark,  narrow  passage  into  the  inner  court,  or 
andaroon.  Here  no  man  may  enter  but  the  very 
nearest  relatives  of  the  inmates,  and  they  under 
severe  restrictions.  As  women,  we  have  free  ac- 
cess, and  this  privilege  is  shared  by  the  Christian 
physician,  who  is  welcomed  and  trusted.  One  such 
gives  us  this  picture. 

The  andaroon  is  usually  very  far  from  being  an 
abode  of  luxury,  even  in  wealthy  families,  unless 
the  number  of  wives  is  limited  to  one  or  two.  The 
favorite  wife  has  many  advantages  over  her  rivals, 
but  she  is  usually  encouraged  to  set  an  example  of 
severe  simplicity,  in  respect  to  her  house  and  its  fur- 
nishings, to  the  other  wives;  each  of  whom  would 
make  life  a  burden  to  her  lord,  were  marked  dis- 
crimination shown  in  such  things.  He,  therefore, 
contents  himself  with  reserving  the  best  of  every- 
thing for  the  beroori,  or  outer  apartments,  where 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA     209 

he  receives  his  own  guests.  Here  are  fountains, 
spacious  courts,  shady  walks,  and  profusion  of 
flowers  without,  while  within  are  large,  high-ceiled 
and  stuccoed  rooms,  elaborate  windows,  delicately 
wrought  frescoes,  the  finest  rugs  and  divans,  showy 
chandeliers  and  candelabra,  stately  pier  glasses 
brought  on  camels'  backs  from  distant  Trebizond 
or  Bushire,  inlaid  tables  from  Shiraz,  and  portieres 
from  Reshd. 

The  andaroon  presents  a  marked  contrast.  The 
rooms  are  usually  small  and  low  without  ventilation, 
the  courts  confined,  sunless,  and  bare ;  the  garden  ill- 
kept,  and  the  general  air  of  a  backyard  pervading 
the  entire  establishment.  This  order  is  reversed  by 
many  ecclesiastics,  who  in  deference  to  the  popular 
idea,  that  to  be  very  holy,  one  must  be  very  dirty, 
reserve  all  their  luxuries  for  the  andaroon,  and 
make  a  show  of  beggarly  plainness  in  the  part  of 
the  house  to  which  their  pupils  and  the  public  have 
access. 

The  Persian  wife  seldom  ventures  into  the 
beroon,  and  when  she  does,  it  is  as  an  outsider 
only,  who  is  tolerated  as  long  as  no  other  visitor 
is  present.  All  its  belongings  are  in  charge  of  men- 
servants,  and  the  dainty  touches  of  the  feminine 
hand  are  nowhere  seen  in  their  arrangement,  and 
her  presence  is  lacking  there,  to  greet  its  guests,  or 
grace  its  entertainments. 

When  the  Khanum  suffers  from  any  of  the  ail- 
ments, for  which  in  America  or  Europe  outdoor 


210         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

exercise,  travel,  a  visit  to  the  seaside,  to  the  moun- 
tains, or  to  the  baths  is  required,  the  physican  feels 
his  helplessness.  He  sees  that  the  patient  cannot 
recover  her  nervous  tone  in  her  present  environ- 
ment. But  there  is  no  seaside  except  at  impossible 
distances  and  in  impossible  climates.  A  visit  to  the 
mountains  would  mean  being  shut  up  in  a  little  dirty 
village,  whose  houses  are  mud  hovels,  the  chief  in- 
dustry of  whose  women  is  the  milking  of  goats 
and  sheep,  and  working  up  beds  of  manure  with 
bare  feet,  and  moulding  it  by  hand  into  cakes  for 
fuel.  Or,  if  the  husband  have  both  the  means  and 
the  inclination,  for  her  sake  to  make  an  encampment 
upon  the  mountains  large  enough  to  afford  security 
from  robbers  and  wandering  tribes,  she  would  be 
confined  largely  to  the  precincts  inclosed  by  the  can- 
vas wall  surrounding  the  harem.  She  rides  only  in 
a  kajava,  or  basket,  or  in  a  closed  takhterawan, 
or  horse  litter,  or,  as  she  sits  perched  high  up, 
astride  a  man's  saddle,  looking  in  her  balloon  gar- 
ments, and  doubtless  feeling,  more  insecure  than 
Humpty  Dumpty  on  the  wall.  In  her  outdoor 
costume,  the  Khanum  never  walks.  At  best  she  can 
only  waddle,  therefore  she  is  almost  as  effectually 
shut  out  from  this  important  form  of  exercise  as 
the  women  of  China.  In  both  countries  the  peasant 
class  are  blessed  with  more  freedom  than  those  of 
higher  rank,  and  the  village  women,  dispensing  with 
the  baggy  trousers  and  in  some  districts  also  with 
the  chader,  or  mantle,  swing  by  on  the  road  with 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA  2 1 1 

an  elastic  stride  that  would  do  credit  to  a  veteran 
of  many  campaigns. 

Travelling  in  Persia  is,  for  women  particularly, 
a  matter  of  so  great  discomfort,  that  even  the  short- 
est journey  could  seldom  be  recommended  as  a 
health  measure.  There  are  some  famous  mineral 
springs  in  Northern  Persia,  but  they  are  usually  in 
regions  difficult  of  access,  and  often  dangerous  on 
account  of  nomads  and  robbers,  and  they  generally 
have  only  such  facilities  for  bathing  as  nature  has 
afforded.  If  they  really  do  heal  diseases  their  virtues 
must  be  marvellous,  for  the  sick  who  visit  them 
usually  stay  but  a  day  or  two,  though  they  make 
a  business  of  bathing  while  they  have  the  opportu- 
nity. To  prescribe  travel,  therefore,  would  be  about 
the  equivalent  of  prescribing  a  journey  to  the  moon, 
and  to  recommend  outdoor  exercise  for  an  inmate 
of  the  andaroon  would  be  like  prescribing  a  daily 
exercise  in  flying,  the  one  being  about  as  practicable 
as  the  other.  Should  the  physician  find  it  necessary 
on  the  other  hand  to  isolate  his  patient  for  the  treat- 
ment of  hysteria,  which  is  exceedingly  common,  or 
for  mental  troubles,  which  are  also  very  common,  he 
is  equally  at  sea.  No  nurse,  not  even  a  "Sairey 
Gamp"  could  be  found.  When  it  is  known  that  one 
has  a  severe  illness  or  visitation  from  God,  they 
come,  as  in  the  days  of  Job,  "every  one  from  his  own 
place — to  mourn  with  him." 

In  cases  where  absolute  isolation  has  been  or- 
dered, as  an  essential  condition  of  the  patient's 


212         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

recovery,  the  physician  may  expect  on  his  next 
visit  to  find  the  room  filled  with  chattering  women, 
who  have  gathered  to  speculate  on  the  possibilities 
of  a  recovery  or  each  to  recommend  the  decoction 
which  cured  some  one  else,  whose  case  was  "just  like 
this."  There  is  but  little  watching  done  at  night 
in  the  most  severe  cases,  and  a  physician  is  seldom 
called  up  at  night  to  see  a  patient. 

On  my  first  introduction  to  the  andaroon,  I  had 
little  acquaintance  with  either  Persian  customs  or 
costumes.  I  had  been  asked  to  see  the  wife  of  a  high 
dignitary,  and  on  my  arrival  was  at  once  ushered 
into  her  presence.  I  found  my  fair  patient  await- 
ing me,  standing  beside  a  fountain,  in  the  midst 
of  a  garden  quite  Oriental  in  its  features.  She  was 
closely  veiled,  but  her  feet  and  legs  were  bare,  and 
her  skirts  were  so  economically  abbreviated  as  at 
first  to  raise  the  question  in  my  mind,  whether  I 
had  not  by  mistake  of  the  servant  been  announced 
before  the  lady  had  completed  her  toilet.  She,  how- 
ever, held  out  her  hand,  which  apparently  she  did 
not  intend  me  to  shake,  and  I  presently  made  out 
that  I  was  expected  to  feel  her  pulse  as  the  prelimi- 
nary to  my  inquiries  concerning  her  symptoms;  or 
rather  in  lieu  of  them,  the  competent  Persian  phy- 
sician needing  no  other  clue  to  the  diagnosis.  Then 
the  pulse  of  the  other  wrist  had  to  be  examined,  and 
I  inspected  the  tongue,  of  which  I  obtained  a 
glimpse  between  the  skilfully  disposed  folds  of  the 
veil.  This  woman  had  been  suffering  from  a  ma- 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA  2 1 3 

larial  disease,  which  had  manifested  some  grave 
symptoms,  and  I  tried  to  impress  upon  the  family 
the  importance  of  her  taking  prompt  measures  to 
avert  another  paroxysm.  Feeling  somewhat  anx- 
ious as  to  the  result,  I  sent  the  next  morning  to 
inquire  about  her  condition  and  the  effect  of  the 
remedy  prescribed,  but  learned  to  my  disgust  that 
the  medicine  had  not  yet  been  given,  the  Mullah  who 
must  make  "istekhara"  (cast  the  lot)  to  ascertain 
whether  the  remedy  was  a  suitable  one  for  the 
case,  not  having  yet  arrived. 

Seclusion,  lack  of  exercise,  the  monotony  that 
leaves  the  mind  to  prey  upon  itself,  ignorance,  early 
marriage,  unhappiness,  abuse,  and  contagious  dis- 
eases bring  upon  the  Persian  woman  a  great  amount 
of  physical  suffering  directly  traceable  to  the  system 
of  Mohammedanism.  One  special  demand  of  her 
religion,  the  month  of  fasting,  is  a  case  in  point. 
At  the  age  of  seven,  the  girls  must  assume  this  bur- 
den, not  taken  up  by  boys  till  they  are  thirteen.  For 
a  mere  child  to  be  deprived  of  food  and  drink, 
sometimes  for  seventeen  hours  at  a  stretch,  day 
after  day,  and  then  allowed  to  gorge  herself  at 
night,  cannot  but  be  a  physical  injury. 

In  illness,  no  pen  can  depict  the  contrast  between 
a  refined  Christian  sickroom  and  the  crowded  noisy 
apartment,  poisoned  with  tobacco  smoke,  where  lies 
the  poor  Persian  woman  in  the  dirty  garments  of 
every-day  wear,  covered  by  bedding  in  worse  con- 
dition. 


214         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

Mentally,  the  Persian  women  are  as  bright  as 
those  of  any  race.  The  same  physician  says,  "The 
Persian  woman  is  often  neither  a  doll  nor  a  drudge. 
I  have  known  some  who  were  recipients  of  appa- 
rently true  love,  respect,  and  solicitude  on  the  part 
of  their  husbands,  as  their  sisters  in  Christian  lands ; 
some  who  were  very  entertaining  in  conversation, 
even  in  their  husbands'  presence;  some  who  were 
their  husbands'  trusted  counsellors;  some  who  were 
noted  for  learning;  some  who  were  successfully 
managing  large  estates ;  some  who  have  stood  by  me 
in  my  professional  work,  in  emergencies  demanding 
great  strength  of  character  and  freedom  from  race 
and  sectarian  prejudice." 

But  these  are  the  exceptions;  scarcely  one  in  a 
thousand  has  any  education,  even  in  its  most  re- 
stricted sense  of  being  able  to  read  and  write  her 
own  language  intelligently.  It  is  marvellous  to  see 
how  all  the  advantages  are  lavished  on  the  boy, 
who  will  have  Arabic,  Persian,  and  French  tutors, 
while  his  sister  is  taught  nothing.  In  consequence, 
the  ignorance  and  stupidity  of  woman  have  become 
proverbial.  It  is  a  common  saying,  "Her  hair  is 
long,  but  her  wit  is  short." 

In  a  Persian  newspaper,  there  lately  appeared 
some  articles  in  which,  after  apologizing  for  men- 
tioning the  subject  of  women,  the  writer  spoke 
strongly  of  their  present  illiterate  state.  He  taxed 
the  mothers  with  the  great  mortality  among  children, 
and  made  the  amazing  statement,  that  in  Australia 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA  2 1 5 

every  woman  who  loses  a  child  is  punished  by  law 
with  the  loss  of  a  finger!  He  did  not  venture  to 
prescribe  this  drastic  remedy  for  Persia,  but  says 
the  husbands  and  fathers  who  allow  their  women  to 
remain  in  ignorance  should  be  held  up  to  public 
scorn  and  contempt,  and  that  nothing  but  education 
and  religion  will  make  a  change. 

Wonderful  to  relate,  this  article  elicited  the  fol- 
lowing reply  from  a  lady,  which  we  print  as  it  was 
written : 

LETTER  FROM  A  MOSLEM  WOMAN 

To  the  honored  and  exalted  editor  of  the  "Guide": — 
"I  myself  have  no  education,  but  my  two  chil- 
dren, a  boy  and  a  girl,  have  a  little.  Every  day 
they  use  your  paper  for  their  reading  lesson,  and  I 
listen  with  the  greatest  attention.  Truly,  as  far  as 
a  patriot's  duty  goes,  you  are  discharging  it.  Your 
paper  is  having  a  remarkable  effect  on  the  minds  of 
both  men  and  women.  I  rejoice,  and  am  delighted 
with  your  love  for  race  and  country,  and  praise 
especially  the  articles  recommending  the  education 
of  women. 

"Some  days  ago,  the  children  were  reading,  and  I 
was  listening  because  I  take  such  an  interest  in  the 
writings  in  the  Guide  that  I  am  constrained  to  defer 
the  most  necessary  labors,  till  the  reading  is  finished. 
You  have  spoken  well  about  the  poor  unfortunate 
women ;  but  first  the  men  must  be  educated ;  because 
the  girl  receives  instruction  from  her  father  and 


216         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

the  wife  from  her  husband.  You  reproach  these 
ill-starred  women,  because  they  are  addicted  to 
superstitious  practices.  Your  humble  servant  makes 
a  petition  that  they  are  not  so  much  to  blame. 

"In  this  very  city  I  know  men  of  the  first  rank, 
who  have  even  travelled  in  Europe  (I  will  not  men- 
tion their  names)  who  are  superstitious  to  an  in- 
credible degree.  Before  putting  on  a  new  suit  of 
clothes,  they  consult  the  astrologer  and  look  in  the 
calendar  for  an  auspicious  hour,  and  if  shoes  or 
other  articles  come  from  the  bazaar  at  an  unlucky 
moment,  they  return  them  till  the  stars  shall  be 
more  propitious;  when  they  contemplate  a  visit  to 
royalty,  or  to  Government  officials,  they  take  the 
chaplet  of  beads  and  cast  lots  to  ascertain  a  fortu- 
nate time.  Is  it  then  strange  that  women  believe  in 
written  prayers,  fortune  telling,  and  the  istekharaf 
You  write  that  in  a  foreign  country  you  have  seen 
men  who  had  fled  there  to  escape  their  wives.  You 
are  telling  the  truth,  because,  indeed,  the  women  are 
a  thousand  times  more  incapable  than  the  men.  And 
why  should  they  not  be,  who  always  sit  behind  a 
curtain  wrapped  in  a  veil?  The  husband  can  flee 
from  his  wife  to  a  foreign  land,  but  what  of  her 
who  is  left  behind :  her  arms  are,  as  it  were,  broken, 
her  condition  remediless,  hopeless?  For  her,  there 
is  but  one  place  whither  she  may  flee — the  grave! 
Look,  and  you  will  see  in  every  cemetery  one-fourth 
of  all  are  men's  graves;  the  rest  are  of  women  who 
have  escaped  their  husbands  by  death. 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA  2 1 7 

"Again  you  speak  of  their  ignorance  of  domestic 
economy,  the  rearing  of  children,  the  avoidance  of 
contagious  diseases,  etc.  When  a  poor  woman  is 
taken  to  her  husband's  home,  it  is  true  she  knows 
nothing  of  these  things,  and  does  not  make  home 
comfortable,  but  by  the  time  she  is  the  mother  of 
two  or  three  children,  she  begins  to  learn ;  she  econ- 
omizes in  food  and  clothing;  she  looks  after  her 
children ;  she  adds  to  her  husband's  prosperity.  She 
takes  a  pride  in  the  home,  in  which  she  hopes  to 
enjoy  many  happy  days;  but  poor  creature!  she 
sees  one  day  a  woman  entering  her  door,  who  says, 
'Your  husband  has  married  me.'  She  recalls  all 
her  struggles  for  family  and  home,  and  her  heart 
is  filled  with  bitterness.  Quarrels  ensue,  and  her 
husband,  taking  a  stick,  beats  her  till  she  is  like 
well-kneaded  dough.  Afterwards  they  both  go  be- 
fore the  judge,  who  without  making  any  investiga- 
tion of  the  case,  gives  sentence  in  favor  of  the  man. 
'You  have  not  in  any  wise  transgressed  the  law; 
the  female  tribe  are  all  radically  bad;  if  this  one 
says  anything  more,  punish  her.'  Unfortunate 
creature !  If  she  is  modest  and  self-respecting,  this 
trouble  falling  upon  her  occasions  various  illnesses, 
and  she  knows  not  what  becomes  of  house  and  chil- 
dren. The  neighbor  women,  seeing  all  this,  are  com- 
pletely discouraged  from  improving  their  homes, 
or  rearing  their  children  properly,  as  they  say, 
'The  more  our  husbands'  circumstances  improve, 
the  less  they  will  care  for  us.'  Why  then  reproach 


218         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

the  women?  It  is  proper  to  advise  the  men,  who 
have  learned  two  things  thoroughly  from  the  law  of 
the  Prophet :  one  I  have  mentioned,  and  the  other  is 
this.  In  the  evening  when  the  Aga  comes,  he  first 
washes  himself  to  be  ceremonially  clean  and  says 
his  prayers  to  fulfil  the  law  of  the  prophet.  Then 
he  goes  to  his  private  room,  or  to  the  men's 
apartments.  Half  an  hour  does  not  pass,  till  he 
sends  to  demand  the  ajil  (food  used  with  intoxi- 
cating drinks,  meat,  fruits,  etc.).  The  wife  makes 
all  ready,  and  sends  to  him.  Then  the  unhappy  soul 
hears  from  that  quarter  the  sound  of  piano,  organ, 
or  tambourine,  and  some  women  just  from  their  feel- 
ings at  such  times,  become  a  prey  to  divers  maladies 
and  untold  misery.  At  one  or  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  the  Aga  brings  his  honorable  presence  into 
the  andaroon.  The  wife  asks,  'What  is  this  busi- 
ness in  which  you  have  been  engaged?  How  long 
must  I  put  up  with  these  evil  doings  ?'  Immediately 
a  quarrel  ensues ;  the  husband,  partially  or  quite  in- 
toxicated, and  not  in  his  right  mind,  answers, 
'What  business  of  yours  is  it  what  I  do?  If  I  wish 
to  bring  the  musicians  and  dancing  women,  I  shall 
do  as  I  like.  Many  women,  on  account  of  these 
evil  practices  of  their  husbands,  give  themselves  up 
also  to  wicked  ways,  and  others  take  to  their  beds 
with  grief.  Should  such  a  one  take  her  case  to  a 
judge,  he  is  worse  than  her  husband,  and  should  she 
complain  to  the  religious  heads,  many  of  them  in 
secret  indulge  in  the  same  vices. 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA    2 19 

"Why  then  judge  so  severely  those  who  are  all 
suffering  under  these  troubles  ?  Again  you  say  that 
women  should  be  educated,  but  fail  to  indicate  in 
which  quarter  of  our  city  is  situated  the  school 
which  they  are  to  attend.  We,  in  our  ignorance 
of  its  location,  beg  you  to  point  out  where  we  may 
find  it.  In  my  own  neighborhood  there  are  twenty 
capable  girls  who  are  ready ;  some  wishing  to  study 
dressmaking,  some  sick-nursing,  midwifery,  etc. 
Unfortunately,  our  nobles  and  ecclesiastics  are  so 
busy,  advancing  the  price  of  wheat,  speculating  on 
the  next  harvest,  snatching  their  neighbors'  caps 
from  their  heads,  that  they  have  not  yet  found 
time  to  establish  a  school  or  university.  I  hope, 
through  a  blessing  on  the  labors  of  your  pen,  this 
will  all  be  remedied,  and  this  stupid  people  awaken 
from  its  sleep.  This  brief  petition  I  have  made, 
and  my  daughter  has  written  it  out.  As  I  have  no 
learning,  I  beg  you  to  excuse  its  mistakes  and 
defects."  .  .  . 

This  letter  is  remarkable  as  showing  that  an 
awakening  is  beginning  in  this  country  and  that 
some  women  are  feeling  its  influence;  that  among 
them  there  are  stirrings  of  a  new  ambition,  and  a 
great  dissatisfaction  with  their  present  condition. 
Moslem  ladies,  invited  to  witness  the  closing  exhibi- 
tion of  a  school  for  missionary  children,  exclaimed, 
"When  will  our  daughters  have  such  opportuni- 
ties?" A  young  girl  was  filled  with  the  extraordi- 


220         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

nary  ambition  to  become  a  doctor,  like  the  lady 
physician  whom  she  admired;  she  came  for  lessons 
in  English,  physiology,  chemistry,  and  materia 
medica,  showing  talent  and  remarkable  studious- 
ness;  but  during  a  disturbance  against  foreign 
schools,  her  father  forbade  her  coming,  so  the  cloud 
again  shrouded  this  particular  bright  star. 

What  is  the  legal  and  social  position  of  woman? 
A  girl  comes  into  the  world  unwelcome;  while  the 
birth  of  a  boy  is  announced  and  celebrated  with 
great  rejoicings,  that  of  his  sister  is  regarded  as  a 
misfortune.  Said  a  mother,  "Why  should  I  not 
weep  over  my  baby  girl,  who  must  endure  the  same 
sorrows  I  have  known?  She  is  of  little  value;  a 
father  of  passionate  temper,  annoyed  by  the  crying 
of  the  sickly  infant  daughter,  flung  her  out  of  the 
window,  effectually  and  forever  stilling  the  pitiful 
wail.  He  was  no  more  punished  than  if  it  had  been 
the  kitten  who  had  suffered  from  his  rage."  If  she 
grows  up,  the  grace,  beauty,  and  sweet  audacity  of 
childhood  often  gain  for  a  little  girl  a  place  in  her 
father's  affections;  but  not  to  be  long  enjoyed;  an 
early  betrothal  and  marriage  are  the  universal 
custom. 

Engagements  take  place  as  early  as  three  years 
old,  and  the  bride  is  sometimes  then  taken  to  grow 
up  with  her  future  husband.  Should  one  inquire 
as  to  the  condition  of  unmarried  women  in  this 
country,  we  are  reminded  of  the  famous  chapter  on 
"Snakes  in  Ireland."  There  are  no  snakes  in 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA  22 1 

Ireland.  I  am  credibly  informed,  that  in  many 
places  it  is  impossible  to  find  an  unmarried  girl 
of  thirteen,  and  in  the  course  of  extensive  travels, 
covering  a  period  of  more  than  twenty  years,  I  have 
myself  met  but  four  spinsters  or  confirmed  old 
maids.  It  is  needless  to  add  that  these  were  persons 
who  possessed  great  native  strength  of  character 
and  firmness  of  purpose,  and  all  seemed  highly  re- 
spected in  their  own  family  and  social  circle.  One, 
the  daughter  of  a  Mujtahid,  or  highest  religious 
teacher,  was  thoroughly  versed  in  all  the  special 
studies  of  her  father,  who  had  educated  her.  She 
understood  Persian,  Arabic,  and  Turkish,  being 
able  to  read  and  write  them  well,  and  was  often 
consulted  on  difficult  points  in  the  Koran,  by  the 
Mullahs,  who  admitted  that  she  understood  it  bet- 
ter than  they.  Another,  living  in  a  large  family  of 
several  brothers,  enjoyed  the  esteem  and  affection  of 
all,  and  was  most  sincerely  mourned  when  she  died. 

These  are,  however,  great  exceptions,  and  con- 
sidered as  directly  opposed  to  the  command  of  the 
Prophet.  It  is  regarded  as  a  cardinal  sin  not  to  mar- 
ry, and  our  single  ladies  are  often  assured  the  only 
prospect  before  them  is  of  the  eternal  pains  of  hell- 
fire,  as  the  penalty  for  the  obstinate  disobedience  in 
this  particular.  Even  the  lepers,  segregated  in  their 
wretched  villages,  feel  the  pressure  of  opinion  and 
are  obliged  to  marry  in  accordance  with  religion. 

Theoretically,  no  girl  is  married  against  her  will ; 
but  practically,  the  pressure  from  her  family  and 


222         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

society  is  too  strong  for  her  to  resist,  and  the  same 
is  much  the  case  with  the  young  men.  The  choice 
of  a  partner  for  life  being  one  in  which  often  the 
boy  has  no  voice,  it  follows  that  the  girl  has  none 
whatever.  A  father  engaging  his  daughter  was 
asked,  "What  does  the  girl  think  of  it  herself?" 
"She?  It  is  none  of  her  affair;  it  is  my  business 
whom  she  marries."  Like  Browning's  Pompilia : 

"Who,  all  the  while,  bore  from  first  to  last 
As  brisk  a  part  in  the  bargain,  as  yon  lamb 
Brought  forth  from  basket,  and  set  out  for  sale 
Bears,  while  they  chaffer  o'er  it;  each  in  turn 
Patting  the  curly,  calm,  unconscious  head, 
With  the  shambles  ready  round  the  corner  there." 

Thus  the  girl  enters  a  new  home,  often  to  be  the 
slave  of  her  mother-in-law.  As  a  rule,  the  married 
couple  have  had  no  previous  acquaintance  with  each 
other. 

Such  a  state  of  society  is  hard  on  both  sexes.  A 
man  is  bound  to  a  wife  who  will  in  all  probability 
deceive  and  disobey  him,  who  compasses  by  fraud 
what  she  cannot  obtain  by  fair  means,  and  who  has 
no  affection  for  him.  She  is  ignorant;  she  is  no 
companion  for  him  mentally;  it  is  not  strange  that 
he  dreads  to  place  in  her  keeping  his  honor,  his 
property,  and  the  welfare  of  his  house.  I  have 
heard  a  young  man  say,  "We  are  like  putting  out 
a  hand  into  the  dark,  to  receive  we  know  not  what. 
Of  one  thing  only  we  are  sure ;  it  will  be  bad."  It 
is  impossible  that  much  unhappiness  should  not  re- 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA    223 

suit,  as  shown  by  the  number  of  divorces,  reckoned 
by  one  of  themselves  as  at  least  forty  per  cent,  of 
the  marriages.  The  wonder  is  that  happy  mar- 
riages do  occur.  Some  there  undoubtedly  are,  but 
in  defiance  of  the  system,  and  not  in  consequence  of 
it.  When  one  such  comes  to  our  notice,  it  appears 
like  a  green  and  refreshing  oasis  in  a  monotonous 
desert.  One  lady  told  us,  "I  have  been  married 
fifteen  years,  and  my  husband  and  I  have  have  never 
had  a  difference."  Another  said,  "He  is  so  kind 
to  me;  he  has  never  yet  scolded  me  for  anything  I 
did."  She  added,  "But  I  am  extremely  careful  to 
avoid  what  I  know  he  does  not  like  and  in  all  mat- 
ters I  try  my  best  to  please  him."  It  must  be  said, 
however,  that  one  of  these  men  is  secretly  a  be- 
liever in  Christ,  and  the  other  a  follower  of  the  Bab, 
in  whose  system  the  equality  and  rights  of  woman 
play  a  prominent  part. 

Did  space  permit  we  should  gladly  tell  the  ro- 
mantic history  of  Qurrat-el-Ayn,  the  Joan  of  Arc 
of  the  Babi  movement;  but  in  this  connection,  we 
may  be  pardoned  for  giving  the  following  sonnet, 
evoked  by  her  remarkable  life  and  tragic  death: 

"Quarrat-el-Ayn!  not  famous  far  beyond 
Her  native  shore.    Not  many  bards  have  sung 
Her  praises,  who,  her  enemies  among, 
Wielding  her  beauty  as  a  magic  wand, 
Strove  for  the  cause  of  him  who  had  proclaimed 
For  poor  down-trodden  womanhood  the  right 
Of  freedom.     Lifting  high  her  beacon  light 


224         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

Of  truth,  she  went  unveiled  and  unashamed, 
A  woman,  in  the  land  where  women  live 
And  weep  and  die  secluded  and  unknown, 
She  broke  the  bonds  of  custom,  and  to  give 
The  Bab  her  aid,  she  dared  the  world  alone. 
Only  to  fail:  death  closed  the  unequal  strife, 
And  Persia  blindly  wrecked  a  noble  life."  ,  .  . 

The  popular  estimate  of  woman  is  that  she  is 
naturally  inferior,  not  to  be  trusted,  to  be  kept  con- 
tinually under  surveillance  as  a  necessary  evil,  with 
something  disgraceful  in  the  fact  of  her  existence,  a 
person  to  be  controlled  and  kept  down  from  birth 
to  death.  "Why  do  you  take  your  wife  out  to  walk 
with  you?"  said  one  brother  to  another  more  en- 
lightened. "I  see  you  promenading  outside  of  the 
village  with  her;  she  will  get  out  of  her  proper 
place,  and  neither  obey  or  respect  you,  if  you  pam- 
per her  in  that  way."  The  younger  man  replied 
with  indignation,  "Is  she  not  a  human  being,  and 
shall  I  not  treat  her  as  such  ?"  The  elder  answered, 
"She  must  know  that  her  proper  position  is  under 
your  foot." 

A  poet  says,  "A  thousand  houses  are  destroyed  by 
women."  Another  Moslem  authority  writes,  "Jeal- 
ousy and  acrimony,  as  well  as  weakness  of  character 
and  judgment,  are  implanted  in  the  nature  of 
women,  and  incite  them  to  misconduct  and  vice." 
Mohammed  says,  "Chide  those  whose  refractoriness 
you  have  cause  to  fear,  and  beat  them."  The  limit 
suggested  is,  "Not  one  of  you  must  whip  his  wife 
like  whipping  a  slave."  ' 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA    225 

A  book  containing  sage  advice  warns  man 
against  three  things :  "First,  excess  of  affection  for 
a  wife,  for  this  gives  her  prominence  and  leads  to 
a  state  of  perversion,  when  the  power  is  over- 
powered and  the  commander  commanded.  Second, 
consulting  or  acquainting  a  wife  with  secrets  or 
amount  of  property."  Mohammed  also  warns,  "Not 
to  entrust  to  the  incapable  the  substance  which  God 
hath  placed  with  you,"  and,  "Beware,  make  not 
large  settlements  on  women."  "Third,  Let  him 
allow  her  no  musical  instruments,  no  visiting  out  of 
doors,  or  listening  to  stories." 

As  to  a  woman's  duty,  Mohammed  declared  that 
if  the  worship  of  one  created  being  could  be  per- 
mitted to  another,  he  would  have  enjoined  the  wor- 
ship of  husbands.  It  seems  strange  to  calculate  a 
woman's  value  arithmetically,  but  in  Moslem  law 
the  testimony  of  two  women  is  equal  to  that  of 
one  man,  a  daughter  gets  half  a  son's  inheritance, 
and  a  wife  only  an  eighth  of  her  husband's  prop- 
erty, if  there  are  children;  otherwise  a  fourth.  A 
husband  does  not  speak  of  his  wife  as  such,  but  uses 
some  circumlocution  as  "My  house,  my  child,  or  the 
mother  of  such  a  boy."  A  villager  asked  the  doctor 
to  come  and  treat  his  mother.  "How  old  is  she?" 
"Thirty."  "And  how  old  are  you?"  "Forty." 
"How  can  she  be  your  mother  ?"  A  bystander,  filled 
with  contempt  for  such  obtuseness,  whispered,  "It 
is  his  wife,  but  he  doesn't  like  to  say  so."  In  like 
manner,  the  children  are  not  taught  to  say  father 


226         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

and  mother,  but  the  master,  the  older  brother,  the 
mistress,  the  lady  sister,  the  older  sister. 

A  comic  paper  published  by  Mohammedans  in 
Russia,  and  in  their  own  language,  has  recently  had 
some  amusing  pictures  bearing  on  the  position  of 
women.  In  the  first,  two  women  and  several  men 
are  coming  before  the  Mullahs  for  marriage  or 
divorce ;  large  heads  of  sugar  carried  into  the  pres- 
ence hint  at  bribery  as  a  factor  in  the  case.  The 
women,  who  stand  mute  and  submissive,  with  their 
mouths  tied  up,  as  is  literally  the  case  with  many 
of  them,  have  evidently  nothing  to  say  in  the  mat- 
ter. The  second  scene  shows  a  man  and  three  boys 
sitting  around  a  large  bowl  of  rice,  which  is  rapidly 
disappearing  before  their  vigorous  onset.  The  cat 
is  crunching  a  bone,  but  the  wife  and  mother  sits 
at  one  side  while  even  the  baby  in  her  arms  is 
given  a  portion;  but  she  waits  till  all  are  satisfied, 
and  she  may  come  in  for  the  leavings.  Again,  the 
lord  and  master  of  the  house,  stretched  upon  a  divan, 
smokes  his  pipe,  a  crying  child  beside  him  on  the 
floor.  His  wife  enters,  staggering  under  a  heavy 
stone  water  jar  on  her  shoulder,  another  in  her 
hand,  and  a  child  tied  on  her  back.  He  exclaims, 
"Oh,  woman,  may  God  curse  you!  this  child  gives 
me  the  headache !  come,  take  it  also  on  your  back." 

A  full  two-page  colored  cartoon  depicts  the  car- 
riage of  a  most  exalted  personage,  with  the  veiled 
wife  in  it  rolling  through  the  street,  while  all  men 
and  boys  are  turning  their  backs,  and  some  even 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA     227 

shutting  their  eyes  in  obedience  to  officers  armed 
with  long  whips.  A  dog  also  has  duteously  and 
humbly  turned  his  back  to  the  forbidden  sight,  and 
is  crouched  down  with  the  most  virtuous  air  you 
could  imagine.  When  such  satires  as  this  can  ap- 
pear, and  the  edition  of  the  paper  runs  up  into  the 
thousands,  people  are  beginning  to  think. 


XVIII 
DARKNESS  AND   DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA 

PART   II 

THERE  is  indeed  another  side  to  the  question,  and 
all  honor  to  the  Moslem  men  whose  eyes  are  open 
to  see  the  wrongs  of  women,  whose  hearts  pity,  and 
who  venture  into  the  thorny  and  dangerous  path  of 
reform !  Many  more,  no  doubt,  feel  all  these  things, 
but  what  can  they  do  ?  They  are  so  bound  in  the  net 
of  custom  and  prejudice,  that  it  is  next  to  impossible 
to  remedy,  in  any  degree,  the  existing  evils;  while 
by  attempting  it,  they  run  the  risk  of  making  things 
worse,  and  so  shrug  their  shoulders,  and  feel  there 
is  nothing  to  do  but  to  submit. 

One  husband,  sincerely  attached  to  his  wife,  said 
to  me,  "How  glad  I  should  be  to  see  her  free  as  you 
are !  It  is  no  pleasure  to  me  to  have  her  shrouded 
in  a  black  wrap,  and  shut  up  behind  a  curtain;  it  is 
the  dream  of  my  life  to  take  her  to  Europe,  and 
have  her  travel  with  me,  as  a  companion  and  a 
friend.  But  in  this  country  I  dare  not  deviate  in  the 
least  from  our  customs;  she  is  so  pretty,  if  other 
men  saw  her  I  should  be  killed  for  her  sake."  This 
man  was  studying  English,  and  the  teacher  being  a 

228 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA     229 

man,  the  lady  sat  behind  a  screen,  listening  to  the 
lessons,  and  learning  faster  than  the  gentleman. 
Though  he  had  three  other  wives,  this  one  (though 
being  childless)  had  complete  possession  of  his  heart. 
They  gave  a  supper  to  our  lady  physician  and  my- 
self, he  doing  us  the  honor  to  wait  on  the  table,  a 
thing  which,  had  not  my  own  eyes  seen  it,  I  could  not 
have  believed  possible  in  Persia.  It  was  sufficiently 
surprising  to  have  him  sit  at  the  same  table  and  eat 
with  us,  but  how  much  more  so,  that  with  each 
course  he  should  rise,  change  our  plate,  and  serve  the 
food  which  the  cook  brought  to  the  door  of  the 
room.  He  had  never  appeared  so  honorable  in  our 
eyes,  as  when,  thus  laying  aside  the  pride  of  rank 
and  station,  he  was  "among  us  as  one  that  served." 

When  one  first  comes  to  a  Moslem  country,  a 
sentiment  of  profound  pity  for  the  women  pre- 
dominates ;  but  as  it  is  evident  that  half  the  popula- 
tion cannot  be  kept  in  an  unnatural  and  degraded 
condition,  without  entailing  disastrous  consequences 
on  the  other  half,  one  begins  to  feel  equal  sympathy 
for  the  men,  who  suffer  under  the  disadvantage  of 
having  no  true  family  life,  and  indeed  of  being 
unable  to  form  a  conception  of  what  it  is. 

The  great  trouble  is  the  lack  of  confidence  in  mar- 
ried life ;  as  it  is  a  very  rare  thing  to  find  a  wife  who 
can  trust  her  husband  not  to  divorce  her,  if  it  appear 
convenient  and  desirable,  or  not  to  add  to  his  wives 
if  he  be  able. 

Divorce,  which  a  woman  may  obtain  under  cer- 


230         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

tain  rare  conditions,  is  a  man's  right  without  restric- 
tion. A  woman's  only  protection  is,  her  dowry 
must  be  paid  her,  and  her  husband  must  pronounce 
the  sentence  of  divorce  three  times.  Thus  a  little 
check  is  put  on  an  angry  impulse.  Age,  poor  health, 
loss  of  beauty  or  eyesight,  lack  of  children,  espe- 
cially of  sons,  or  the  merest  whim,  may  be  the  excuse 
for  it.  The  most  pathetic  appeals  are  made  to  the 
lady  doctor,  by  women  in  dread  of  divorce. 

A  wealthy  nobleman,  married  to  a  young  and 
beautiful  lady  of  equal  rank,  the  mother  of  both 
sons  and  daughters,  and  as  reported,  with  a  fair 
amount  of  wedded  happiness,  was  dazzled  by  a  pro- 
posed alliance  with  a  princess  of  such  rank  as  to 
brook  no  rival.  The  indispensable  condition  was 
a  divorce,  and  absolute  separation  from  the  wife  he 
had.  She  knew  nothing  of  her  fate  till  one  day, 
when  visiting  at  her  brother's,  word  was  brought  her 
she  need  not  return  home.  That  night  the  wedding 
was  celebrated  with  firing  of  cannon  and  great 
festivities,  but  the  children  were  crying  for  their 
mother,  and  for  her  and  them  there  was  no  redress. 
She  immediately  went  on  pilgrimage  to  a  holy 
shrine,  to  pray  that  her  husband  and  his  new  wife 
might  be  cursed  of  God.  The  man  met  with  some 
very  signal  and  public  reverses,  and  transported  with 
joy,  she  flew  to  another  sacred  place,  to  call  down 
more  misfortunes  on  his  head. 

Many  of  the  divorced  women  remarry;  others 
become  beggars  or  maid-servants.  As  for  the  chil- 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA    23 1 

dren,  if  the  family  be  wealthy,  they  remain  with  the 
father;  if  poor,  in  case  both  parents  find  other  part- 
ners, they  are  often  cast  adrift  to  shift  for  them- 
selves. 

On  a  journey,  the  wife  of  the  muleteer  was  seen  to 
be  laying  aside  part  of  the  tea,  sugar,  etc.,  pur- 
chased by  the  man  for  their  joint  use,  and  was  asked 
the  cause.  She  replied,  "It  is  necessary  to  make 
some  provision  for  myself  against  the  day  when  he 
shall  divorce  me;  I  have  had  six  husbands  and  he 
has  had  seven  wives;  what  can  I  expect?"  The 
couple  had  been  newly  married,  and  this  was  their 
wedding  trip. 

A  sad-faced  drudge  in  our  lodging  place  told  us,     V_ 
"I  am  the  twenty-fifth  wife,  some  are  divorced,  some 
dead;  to-morrow  it  may  be  my  turn  to  go." 

Polygamy  is  prevalent  among  the  rich  who  can 
afford  it,  and  is  regarded  by  many  as  highly 
meritorious.  Some  of  the  poor  also  practise  it,  but 
most  of  them  have  but  one  wife  at  a  time,  and  are 
comparatively  faithful  to  her.  The  percentage  of 
men  who  live  in  polygamy  is  difficult  to  arrive  at, 
but  a  good  judge  has  estimated  it  at  thirty  per  cent. 
The  best  men  seem  to  be  ashamed  and  to  deprecate 
it.  Some  say  it  is  forbidden  in  the  Koran,  by  the 
verse  which  allows  only  as  many  wives  as  a  man 
can  treat  with  equity;  as  they  say  this  is  an  impossi- 
bility, if  a  man  has  more  than  one  consort,  to  treat 
them  alike.  When  asked  about  the  example  of  the 
Prophet,  and  the  holy  men,  especially  the  Imams, 


232         OUR   MOSLEM   SISTERS 

they  say,  as  for  Mohammed,  he  was  allowed  peculiar 
privileges,  not  granted  to  other  men.  Some  who 
consider  the  Imams  sinless,  explain  their  conduct  in 
the  same  way.  Those  who  do  not  accept  this  solu- 
tion say  the  Imams  did  wrong  in  having  a  plurality 
of  wives.  When  asked  about  the  Shah,  they  reply 
he  does  wrong  in  practising  polygamy,  but  it  is  per- 
mitted to  him  because  he  has  the  power  in  his  hands. 

No  Moslem  woman  is  supposed  to  have  any  right 
to  require  or  expect  that  her  husband  will  be  true  to 
her  in  the  marriage  relation,  though  fidelity  to  him 
is  rigorously  exacted  of  her,  and  her  breach  of  it 
is  punishable  with  death. 

There  may  be  instances  where  the  women  of  a 
polygamous  household  agree;  the  casual  stranger, 
who  visits  a  harem  without  any  knowledge  of  the 
language,  or  personal  acquaintance  with  the  inmates, 
will  often  be  assured  that  they  love  each  other 
fondly,  and  are  more  than  sisters  in  friendship;  but 
the  trusted  family  friend,  or  the  lady  doctor,  can 
tell  a  very  different  tale. 

Our  doctor  told  me  once,  she  thought  the  two 
women  of  a  certain  house,  were  an  exception  to  the 
general  rule,  and  that  they  really  were  friends;  but 
soon  after,  the  older  one  being  sick,  she  saw  a  good 
deal  of  her  in  private,  and  was  obliged  sadly  to  con- 
fess she  had  been  mistaken. 

I  have  myself  known  of  one  case,  in  which  the 
rival  wives  were  of  the  same  mind.  One  of  our 
neighbors  had  two  partners  of  his  joys  and  sorrows, 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA    233 

who  sometimes  joined  forces,  and  gave  him  a  good 
beating,  so  he  would  be  seen  flying  in  hot  haste  from 
his  "happy"  home.  One  man  said  to  one  of  us,  "I 
don't  need  to  die  in  order  to  go  to  hell;  I  have  it  in 
my  own  house;  I  live  there."  Another,  when  told 
by  the  indignant  doctor,  "Your  mode  of  life  is 
beastly,"  replied,  "I  know  it;  compared  with  me  the 
beasjts  are  decent." 

If  the  wives  are  in  the  same  house,  it  is  filled  with 
bitterness  and  jealousy;  if  they  are  in  separate  houses 
or  even  in  different  towns,  the  case  is  not  much  bet- 
ter. If  the  women  were  not  taught  by  their  religious 
leaders  that  their  sufferings  are  the  will  of  God, 
and  that  it  is  very  meritorious  to  accept  them,  and 
if  they  believed  any  other  fate  possible,  I  do  not 
think  they  would  endure  it.  They  say  "Christian 
women  have  their  heaven  now,  but  afterwards  they 
will  inherit  endless  suffering;  we  have  hell  in  this 
life,  but  hereafter  shall  come  eternal  bliss." 

"Do  we  love  our  husbands?"  said  one  in  answer 
to  a  question,  "Yes,  as  much  as  a  sieve  holds  water." 
One  of  our  friends,  the  third  of  three  wives  in  one 
house,  was  found  by  us  at  her  mother's.  "Oh,  yes," 
she  said,  "I  have  come  home  to  stay;  I  simply  could 
not  bear  it  any  longer;  so  I  hired  a  woman  to  take 
my  place  with  my  husband. and  came  here." 

These  are  regularly  married  wives,  with  dowry 
rights  and  the  protection  of  law.  What  of  the  poor 
temporary  hired  ones,  who  come  for  a  longer  or 
shorter  period,  and  a  specified  wage?  This  is  the 


234         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

peculiar  shame  and  blot  of  the  Shiah  sect  of  Islam, 
which  not  only  tolerates  the  vile  institution  of  muti, 
but  takes  it  under  the  sanction  of  law  and  custom, 
and  even  permits  the  ministers  of  religion  to  be  the 
chief  promoters  of  it,  many  of  them  accumulating 
wealth  by  this  base  means. 

You  will  sometimes  hear  it  stated  that  there  are 
no  houses  of  prostitution  in  Moslem  lands.  In 
Persia,  at  least,  the  institution  may  not  exist  in 
precisely  the  same  form  as  in  other  countries,  where 
it  is  under  the  ban  of  the  law,  and  in  defiance  of  pub- 
lic opinion,  but  it  is  here,  in  a  form  which  utterly 
depraves  the  mind  of  the  people,  and  obliterates  for 
them  all  moral  distinctions,  poisoning  family  life  at 
the  very  fountain.  It  is  impossible  to  go  fully  into 
this  subject:  the  details  are  too  revolting,  but  one 
or  two  instances  may  suffice. 

We  know  of  a  girl  who  was  sold  for  five  dollars 
by  her  family,  and  taken  by  her  brother  to  a  city 
where  a  Khan  wished  for  her  during  his  temporary 
sojourn;  on  his  return  he  discarded  her,  and  she 
came  back  to  her  family,  her  social  standing  in  no 
wise  affected  by  the  transaction,  which  was  merely  a 
matter  of  business.  An  old  roue,  who  had  already 
had  over  thirty  wives,  sitting  like  a  spider  in  his 
web,  from  his  upper  window  spied  a  pretty  young 
girl  in  the  street.  Her  family  was  poor,  and  he 
tempted  them  with  money  and  large  promises,  and 
sent  silks  and  satins  for  the  trousseau.  It  was  all 
but  done,  when  some  missionary  ladies  remonstrated 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA     235 

on  her  behalf,  and  showed  how  she  would  soon  come 
back  to  them  ruined  and  diseased.  So  she  escaped 
for  that  time. 

In  the  house  of  my  Turkish  teacher,  I  was  intro- 
duced to  "my  brother's  wife."  Inquiring  about  her 
some  months  after  I  was  told,  "My  brother  has  no 
wife;  he  has  never  been  married."  "But  who,  then, 
was  that  woman  who  was  presented  to  me  as  his 
wife?"  "That  was  a  muti  woman;  he  treated  her 
so  badly  she  could  not  stay  her  time  out,  but  asked 
to  be  excused  and  went  away  without  her  money." 

The  effect  of  polygamy  and  divorce  on  children  is 
very  bad.  A  son,  particularly,  seeing  his  mother 
treated  with  disrespect,  feels  contempt  for  her,  and 
will  in  many  cases  tyrannize  over  and  beat  her.  An- 
other effect  is  that  curiosity  is  stimulated,  and  a 
premature  and  unhallowed  knowledge  is  gained  of 
the  most  sacred  relations  of  life,  which  is  contami- 
nating, and  destroys  for  ever  the  innocence  of  child- 
hood. As  a  matter  of  course,  there  is  jealousy 
between  the  children  of  different  wives,  and 
estrangement  and  hatred  destroy  family  affection. 
One  who  has  seen  the  children  of  Sarah  in  the  place 
of  honor,  presented  proudly  to  the  visitor  and  in- 
dulged in  every  wish,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
children  of  Hagar  standing  humbly  in  the  presence 
as  servants,  or  hanging  about  the  door  outside,  will 
not  soon  forget  the  contrast. 

In  such  a  house  there  is  nothing  whatever  to 
teach  a  boy  the  possibility  of  leading  a  clean  life; 


236         OUR   MOSLEM   SISTERS 

purity  is  not  expected  of  him,  and  often  the  most 
elaborate  provision  is  made  to  satisfy  the  lusts  of 
the  flesh.  The  mother  of  a  young  boy  will  hire  a 
female  servant  for  him  as  part  of  the  regular  family. 
The  effect  of  such  an  element  on  the  whole  house- 
hold may  be  imagined.  Bitter  also  is  the  retribution 
often  suffered  for  such  breaches  of  the  law  of  God. 
Barrenness  is  a  most  common  thing,  and  the  Moslem 
population  does  not  increase  but  barely  replaces  it- 
self, while  the  Jews  and  Christians,  whose  family  life 
is  comparatively  pure,  survive  and  win  in  the  race 
of  life. 

If  a  Moslem  woman  were  sure  of  her  place  in  her 
husband's  affection  and  her  position  in  the  home,  I 
am  certain  she  would  prove  herself  as  worthy  as 
any;  for  I  have  observed  some  families  among  them 
where  the  tradition  or  custom  of  the  clan  is  against 
polygamy  and  divorce,  and  the  women  in  those 
homes  are  loyal  to  their  husbands'  interests,  ready  to 
work  hard  and  deny  themselves  for  the  home  which 
they  know  is  guaranteed  to  them  and  their  children. 
We  are  very  apt  to  think  that  having  known  noth- 
ing better  and  having  nothing  else  to  hope  for,  they 
must  be  contented  and  reconciled  to  their  lot.  This 
reminds  one  of  the  answer  of  the  old  fishwife,  when 
one  remonstrated  with  her  on  the  habit  of  skinning 
eels  alive,  "Oh,  they  don't  mind  it;  they  are  used 
to  it."  This  is  far  from  being  the  case,  and  it  is 
especially  true  of  those  who,  by  travel  or  contact 
with  Christians,  have  had  their  eyes  opened  to  the 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA     237 

fact,  that  in  other  countries  their  sisters  enjoy  ad- 
vantages of  education,  and  are  objects  of  respect 
denied  to  themselves;  that  Christian  women  are 
trusted  with  freedom,  and  as  a  rule  prove  worthy 
of  it. 

Yet  the  fact  remains :  these  women  and  girls  can- 
not be  educated  and  emancipated,  without  bringing 
to  bear  on  the  social  fabric  influences  which  would 
result  in  its  disintegration  and  destruction,  with 
nothing  better  to  replace  it.  Galling  as  are  the  cur- 
tain and  the  veil,  they  cannot  be  dispensed  with,  for 
fear  of  worse  evils.  Ignorance  and  seclusion  are 
better  than  education  and  liberty  without  moral  re- 
straint. 

While  polygamy  and  divorce  exist,  and  there  is 
no  standard  of  purity  equally  applicable  to  both 
eexes,  more  freedom  than  woman  now  possesses 
cannot  with  safety  be  granted  her.  I  fail  to  see  any 
remedy,  but  in  the  doctrine  and  practice  of  Chris- 
tianity. The  fact  known  to  be  true  of  a  school  in 
Syria,  points  out  the  solution  of  the  problem.  Of 
the  pupils  of  a  Protestant  school,  conducted  there, 
for  many  years,  and  largely  attended  by  Moslem 
girls,  it  is  stated  a  case  has  never  been  known  where 
a  pupil  who  had  passed  through  their  hands  had 
been  divorced  or  obliged  to  accept  a  second  wife  in 
her  home. 

These  women  have  learned  lessons  of  duty,  of  per- 
sonal responsibility  to  God,  of  self-respect,  self- 
control,  kindness,  and  love,  that  cause  the  hearts  of 


238         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

their  husbands  safely  to  trust  in  them.  Can  we  say 
as  much  for  any  other  system  of  education  or  re- 
ligion ? 

Certainly  Mohammedanism,  with  its  twin  evils 
of  polygamy  and  divorce,  has  not  only  failed  to  ele- 
vate woman,  but  has  everywhere  resulted  in  her 
degradation.  More  pitiful  than  the  more  obvious 
wrongs  inflicted  by  this  system,  is  the  effect  pro- 
duced upon  character.  Being  distrusted,  she  has  be- 
come untrustworthy;  being  abused,  she  has  become 
abusive;  and  every  evil  passion  is  given  free  rein. 

The  bad  wife  is  described  by  a  Moslem  writer  as 
"a  rebel  for  contumacy  and  unruliness;  as  a  foe 
for  contemptuousness  and  reproach;  and  as  a  thief 
for  treacherous  designs  upon  her  husband's  purse." 
She  becomes  an  adept  in  the  use  of  woman's  weapon, 
the  tongue;  "an  unruly  evil  full  of  deadly  poison." 
"An  angry  woman  in  a  passion  of  rage,  pouring 
forth  torrents  of  curses  and  invectives,  is  a  fury 
incarnate."  The  jealousy  of  rival  wives  often  leads 
to  dreadful  crimes.  One  woman  became  blind  from 
vitriol  thrown  in  her  face  by  another  wife;  an  only 
son,  most  precious  and  of  high  rank,  was  poisoned 
in  his  innocent  babyhood  by  his  mother's  rival;  a 
young  bride  attempted  suicide  in  her  despair. 

These  are  but  instances;  every  harem  has  its  un- 
written tragedies. 

Not  the  least  feature  of  the  moral  ruin  into  which 
they  have  fallen,  is  the  impurity  which  seems  to 
permeate  every  thought;  so  that  they  delight  in 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA    239 

obscene  songs,  vile  allusions,  and  impure  narratives. 
A  missionary  lady  visiting  at  the  home  of  a  high- 
born Moslem  woman,  very  religious  and  devout  ac- 
cording to  their  standards,  was  so  shocked  by  the 
character  of  the  conversation  with  which  her  hostess 
was  trying  to  entertain  her,  as  to  be  forced  to  say, 
"If  you  talk  to  me  like  this,  I  shall  be  obliged  to 
excuse  myself  and  leave  your  house." 

Saddest  of  all,  they  often  become  so  depraved 
that  they  not  only  connive  at  the  evils  of  the  sys- 
tem, but  actively  promote  them.  A  lady  going  on  a 
long  pilgrimage  herself  chose  and  brought  two 
young  girls,  to  be  her  husband's  concubines  in  her 
absence.  A  mother  cultivates  in  her  son  the  passions 
she  should  teach  him  to  subdue.  The  present  mode 
of  life  is  supposed  to  be  perpetuated  in  Paradise, 
where  every  true  believer  is  to  have  "seventy-two 
wives,  and  eighty  thousand  slaves,"  all  Houris 
specially  created  for  him.  The  place  for  Moslem 
woman  is  not  definitely  specified. 

The  religion  that  robs  them  of  happiness  in  this 
life,  and  gives  no  hope  of  it  in  the  next,  lays  the 
same  obligations  upon  them  as  on  men,  viz.,  the  five 
foundations  of  practice :  the  witnessing  to  the  Unity 
of  God  and  the  apostleship  of  the  Prophet;  observ- 
ing the  five  daily  seasons  of  prayer;  alms-giving; 
the  fast  of  Ramazan ;  and  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca. 

In  Persia  is  added  the  mourning  for  a  month,  for 
Hassan  and  Hossein,  the  martyred  grandsons  of 
Mohammed.  As  in  all  religions,  women  are  most 


240         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

zealous  and  devoted  in  the  performance  of  these 
duties,  but  the  practice  of  Islam  has  nothing  to 
satisfy  their  soul  hunger.  Their  belief  in  God  is 
cruel  fatalism,  and  all  their  rites  work  no  change  of 
heart,  and  give  no  peace  of  conscience. 

The  Gospel  comes  to  them  with  a  special  appeal, 
and  bringing  its  own  message.  That  they  should 
have  any  message,  or  be  considered  at  all,  is  news  to 
them;  they  are  so  used  to  neglect  and  disrespect. 
When  two  of  us,  at  the  invitation  of  a  lady  of  rank, 
attended  their  Passion  Play,  we  sat  with  her  on  the 
ground,  among  a  crowd  of  women,  who  were  pushed 
about  by  ushers  with  long  poles,  while  the  "lords  of 
creation"  sat  comfortably  above  on  chairs,  and  in 
booths. 

So  accustomed  are  Moslem  women  to  being 
hustled  about  that  they  wonder  at  Christ's  "Forbid 
them  not,"  which  we  are  apt  to  apply  only  to  the 
children,  forgetting  that  it  was  spoken  for  the 
mothers.  It  is  sometimes  most  amusing  to  see  a 
pompous  dignitary  crowd  his  way  into  the  dispen- 
sary of  the  lady  physician,  and  when  made  with 
difficulty  to  understand  that  only  women  are  treated 
there,  retire  crestfallen.  There  at  least  women  have 
not  only  the  first,  but  the  only  entrance.  They  are 
not  surprised  at  the  Syrophenician  woman  being 
called  "a  dog."  They  are  used  to  the  epithet  and 
employ  it  themselves.  One  often  hears  one  berating 
her  own  offspring,  as  '-child  of  a  dog."  When 
driven  to  desperation  by  want,  the  Persian  woman 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA     241 

can  be  as  defiant,  shameless,  and  persistent,  as  she 
of  old  before  the  unjust  judge.  Not  unfrequently 
mobs  of  women  led  by  a  woman,  attack  the  gates  of 
the  governors,  demanding  bread. 

Their  often  miserable  and  diseased  condition  of 
health  makes  them  feel  how  tender  is  Christ's  com- 
passion in  His  miracles  of  healing.  They  also  have 
often  suffered  much  from  quack  nostrums,  "only  to 
grow  worse."  In  any  crowd  of  village  women,  one 
may  see  an  old  hag,  bent  and  "bowed  together — not 
able  to  lift  herself  up,"  and  there  is  no  more  pitiful 
sight  than  the  old  women  of  Persia.  A  neighbor,  a 
hundred  years  old,  always  appeals  to  our  charity  on 
the  ground  of  being  "an  orphan." 

Their  life  and  occupations  are  so  identical  with 
those  of  Bible  times,  that  they  feel  at  once  familiar 
with  the  scenes  described  in  the  New  Testament. 
Every  morning,  a  village  woman  must  mix  the 
leaven  in  her  meal  for  the  daily  baking,  must  sweep 
her  mud  floor,  and  often  two  of  them  sit  at  the  hand 
mill  grinding  wheat  or  salt.  Every  one  who  can, 
wears  a  necklace  of  silver  coins,  and  counts  each 
one  precious.  The  custom  of  covering  the  face  "lest 
a  man  look  upon  a  woman"  is  so  inwrought  into 
their  earliest  training  that  they  are  able  to  draw 
their  veils  instantly,  whatever  they  are  doing,  if  a 
man  approaches. 

They  marvel,  as  did  Christ's  disciples,  that  He 
talked  with  a  woman,  especially  of  a  foreign  race, 
and  that  He  asked  for  a  drink  of  water,  for  to-day 


242         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

the  Persians  think  a  cup  defiled  if  a  Christian  drink 
from  it.  In  a  wedding  procession  in  a  village,  the 
musicians  lead  with  fife  and  drum,  and  "the  virgins" 
follow  in  all  the  finery  they  can  muster.  At  times  of 
mourning  also,  they  act  just  as  the  Gospels  describe. 
Friends  gather  to  "weep  and  bewail."  I  have  seen  a 
roomful  of  women  swaying  and  sobbing,  while  a 
mother  chanted  a  plaintive  refrain:  "Alas!  alas!" 
repeating  the  beloved  name  of  the  dead;  often  tear- 
ing her  hair,  and  beating  her  breast.  I  have  often 
seen  blear-eyed  women,  who  said  they  had  become 
so  by  excessive  weeping  over  the  death  of  a  child. 
To  such  comes  Jesus'  message,  "Weep  not." 

Religious  observances  in  Persia  are  such  as  give 
special  significance  to  Gospel  teaching.  I  had  a 
visitor  whose  lips  were  continually  mumbling  while 
she  fingered  her  beads.  She  told  me  she  was  making 
merit,  by  repeating  the  hundred  names  of  Allah. 
Often  when  in  their  homes,  our  hostess  will  excuse 
herself,  because  "it  is  the  hour  of  prayer,"  and  going 
to  a  corner  of  the  same  room,  will  go  through  the 
forms  and  gestures  of  Mohammedan  worship. 
"Vain  repetitions"  they  seem,  when  we  know  the 
words  are  Arabic,  a  language  she  does  not  under- 
stand; and  as  in  the  midst  of  her  prayers  she  calls 
out  directions  to  her  servants,  one  can  see  there  is 
no  devotion  in  them. 

Fasting  is  a  terrible  burden,  when,  for  a  month, 
from  dawn  to  dark,  not  a  morsel  of  food,  or  drop  of 
water,  or  a  whiff  of  the  loved  cigarette  or  pipe  can 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA     243 

pass  their  lips.  The  people  acknowledge  that  it  is 
the  cause  of  quarrelling  and  reviling,  so  irritable  do 
they  become  under  the  strain,  yet  they  dare  not 
"break  their  fast"  for  fear  of  others. 

All  who  can  afford  it  make  the  long  pilgrimage  to 
Mecca,  or  in  lieu  of  that  to  Kerbela  or  Meshed ;  and 
bear  thereafter  the  holy  name  of  Haji,  Kerbelai,  or 
Meshedi.  To  them  it  is  a  new  thought,  given  by 
Christ  to  the  woman  of  Sychar,  that  no  special  loca- 
tion is  "the  place  where  men  ought  to  worship." 
Of  all  His  words  none  receive  more  approval  from 
the  Persian  woman  than  His  teachings  on  marriage 
and  divorce.  They  often  say  to  us,  "How  happy  you 
Christian  women  are  with  no  fear  of  divorce!" 

Not  only  Christ's  teachings  but  His  character 
makes  an  impression,  and  His  gentleness  and  purity 
especially  attract  them.  We  are  shocked  at  the 
coarse  questions :  "Can  God  have  a  Son  ?  Was  Jesus 
married?"  but  as  they  hear  the  story  of  His  mar- 
vellous life  a  look  of  awe  sometimes  comes  into  their 
faces,  as  the  vision  of  "the  White  Christ"  dawns 
upon  them. 

A  Moslem  lady  said  to  me,  "I  cannot  read,  but 
one  woman  in  our  harem  can,  and  she  reads  the 
Injil  (New  Testament)  to  us;  we  can  never  get 
enough  of  it."  Another,  making  a  call  of  con- 
dolence upon  me,  said,  "There  is  only  one  book  that 
can  comfort  you;  you  have  told  me  about  it;  now 
I  tell  you." 

Those  who  have  grown  up  in  the  midst  of  free  in- 


244         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

stitutions,  under  the  protection  of  law,  and  in  the 
light  of  publicity,  can  really  have  no  idea  of  the 
difficulties  to  be  encountered  by  the  Moslem  woman 
who  becomes  a  Christian.  A  man  can  escape  by 
flight,  but  this  refuge  is  denied  her.  Even  if  she 
wish  to  keep  her  change  of  faith  secret,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  do  so,  and  be  true  to  her  new-found  Saviour. 
The  whole  warp  and  woof  of  her  daily  life  are  so 
bound  up  with  religious  observances,  and  the  least 
failure  to  perform  them  is  so  jealously  noted,  the 
least  endeavor  to  fulfil  the  commands  of  the  Gospel 
with  regard  to  Sabbath  rest,  reading  the  Word,  or 
secret  prayer  is  at  once  the  object  of  remark  and 
criticism;  often  of  active  opposition.  Were  it  not  so 
her  changed  life  and  character  mark  her  out  as  walk- 
ing in  a  different  path  and  measuring  her  conduct  by 
another  standard  from  those  who  surround  her. 
She  is  most  happy  if,  as  sometimes  happens,  her 
husband,  brother,  father,  or  son  is  in  sympathy  with 
her,  and  has  perhaps  been  the  means  of  her  enlight- 
enment; or  if  a  sister  or  friend  is  of  like  faith,  and 
they  can  strengthen  each  other.  But  often  she 
stands  entirely  alone  in  her  family  and  social  circle, 
and  must  bear  much  petty  persecution,  even  if  she 
is  not  turned  out  of  her  home,  does  not  lose  her 
children,  or  her  life.  In  such  circumstances,  if  a 
convert  stand  firm,  and  even  win  her  enemies  to 
accept  Jesus,  it  is  a  genuine  miracle.  Yet  it  is  seen 
to  occur. 

Words  cannot  tell  the  beauty  of  some  of  these 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA     245 

transformed  faces :  the  sweetness  plucked  from  bit- 
terness, the  "lily  among  thorns."  The  present  help 
of  a  living  Saviour  and  the  wonderful  hopes  for  the 
future  have  made  life  an  entirely  different  thing. 
One  such  who  had  borne  a  heavy  yoke  in  her  youth, 
had  suffered  deeply,  and  with  rancor  and  rebellion 
in  her  heart  against  him  who  had  blighted  her  life, 
has  learned  to  forgive  and  pray  for  the  one  who  so 
deeply  injured  her;  and  her  daily  household  life  is  a 
triumph  of  grace.  During  a  cholera  epidemic,  when 
all  around  were  panic-stricken,  she  and  her  sisters, 
who  have  found  the  like  precious  refuge,  were  per- 
fectly calm,  saying,  "Why  should  we  fear  death? 
It  can  only  take  us  to  Jesus,  which  is  far  better; 
as  living  or  dying  we  are  His." 

One  old  woman  walked  three  miles  and  back  once 
a  week  in  order  to  be  instructed  in  the  Gospel,  and 
is  never  satisfied,  always  wants  to  learn  more,  and 
takes  great  pains  to  remember  texts  and  prayers. 
Once  after  the  others  had  gone  she  caught  hold  of 
me,  saying,  "Do  you  think  I  walk  all  these  miles, 
with  my  blind  eyes,  to  learn  nothing?  Come  and 
teach  me  some  more."  Showing  some  hard  barley 
bread,  she  said,  "No  one  shall  say  I  come  for  food; 
I  have  brought  my  own  bread." 

Another  woman,  whose  paralytic  son  had  learned 
to  read  the  Bible,  said,  "At  first  I  did  not  care  for  it, 
but  little  by  little  I  got  to  love  it."  It  worked  a 
transformation  in  that  humble  home;  the  son  in  his 
first  despair  had  attempted  to  poison  himself;  but  he 


246         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

learned  to  praise  God  for  the  affliction  which  was 
the  means  of  acquainting  him  with  his  Saviour. 
The  mother  instead  of  considering  the  helpless 
young  man  a  burden,  and  complaining  of  the  mis- 
fortune, nursed  him  for  years  with  such  rare  pa- 
tience and  tenderness,  that  we  marvelled  to  see  it. 
The  contrast  between  her  and  her  neighbors  is 
marked;  her  face  is  gentle  and  kind,  her  voice  sweet. 
She  is  faithful,  industrious,  and  honest;  for  a  whole 
summer  when  a  family  was  absent,  she  went  alone 
every  week  to  sweep  the  house,  and  not  a  thing  was 
ever  missed,  though,  in  general,  we  expect  nothing 
better  than  pilfering  and  theft  from  the  women  of 
the  country. 

In  one  city  is  gathered  a  little  band  of  believing 
women,  who  hold  a  weekly  prayer  meeting,  and  "it 
is  most  touching  to  hear  their  simple  requests  and 
pleading  for  this  and  that  one  still  outside  the  fold. 
When  I  was  going  to  B they  gave  me  a  mes- 
sage for  the  sisters  there.  They  had  long  taken  a 
special  interest  in  the  work  in  that  place,  and  never 
failed  to  remember  it  at  the  throne  of  grace.  They 
had  heard  several  women  there  were  secret  believers, 
but  afraid  to  confess  their  faith  openly,  so  they  sent 
word  to  them  that  they  themselves  were  once  in  the 
same  state.  They  feared  to  confess  Christ  before 
men,  but  He  had  promised  to  be  with  them,  and 
He  had  given  them  grace  to  come  out  boldly,  and  He 
had  kept  His  promise  to  give  peace  and  joy  in  all 
times  of  trial  and  difficulty.  They  then  begged  their 


DARKNESS  AND  DAYBREAK  IN  PERSIA     247 

sisters  to  do  as  they  had  done,  to  take  the  plunge, 
trusting  in  His  power  to  help  them,  and  they  would 
find  all  their  fears  taken  away  and  courage  given 
instead." 

Such,  living  and  dying,  was  the  experience  of 
Almass  of  Urumia.  She  had  become  a  Christian, 
and  her  husband  also  had  suffered  great  persecution 
from  her  own  family  on  this  account.  Her  hus- 
band being  away,  she  was  living  in  her  father's 
house,  and  her  stepmother  would  not  even  give  her 
enough  to  eat,  constantly  reviled  her,  made  her  life 
bitter,  and  did  her  best  to  prevent  her  praying.  Be- 
ing stricken  with  consumption,  she  went  to  the  hos- 
pital, where  she  rejoiced  in  Christian  companionship 
and  instruction,  but  at  the  last,  she  was  taken  to  her 
own  home  to  die.  A  young  Nestorian  doctor,  called 
in  to  attend  her,  witnessed  her  triumphant  death; 
himself  but  a  nominal  Christian,  he  exclaimed, 
"Would  that  I  could  die  so  happy!"  Her  whole 
trust  was  in  Jesus,  and  her  only  anxiety  that  her 
little  daughter  should  be  trained  in  the  same  faith. 

Almass  means  diamond,  and  in  the  day  when  the 
Lord  "makes  up  His  jewels"  she  will  surely  be 
among  them. 

Far  away  in  the  isles  of  Bahrein, 
Down  under  the  depths  of  the  sea, 

The  Persian  diver  gathers  his  shells 
For  the  goodly  pearls  that  shall  be. 

And  what  is  the  price  of  a  goodly  pearl? 
A  merchant  man  once  for  one, 


248         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

'Tis  said,  sold  all  he  ever  possessed, 
And  counted  the  deed  well  done. 

And  what  is  the  price  of  a  human  soul? 

The  price  it  is  set  so  high 
The  Son  of  God  gave  all  that  He  had 

When  He  came  on  earth  to  buy. 

Submerged  in  the  sea  of  sin  are  the  souls, 

Are  the  souls  of  Persian  girls; 
Ah!  who  will  dive  to  the  lowest  depths, 

To  gather  these  hidden  pearls? 

They  are  gems  for  the  crown  of  the  King  of  kings, 

More  precious  far  in  His  sight 
Than  the  jewels  rare  of  the  Shah-fn-Shah, — 

All  His  glory  and  delight. 


XIX 

THE  CONDITION   OF    MOHAMMEDAN   WOMEN 
IN   BALUCHISTAN 

IN  the  degraded  position  of  its  women  is  to  be 
seen  the  worst  fruit  of  the  religion  of  Islam.  I  will 
quote  from  the  Government  Report  of  British 
Baluchistan:  "Throughout  the  Province,  but  espe- 
cially among  the  Afghans  and  Brahuis,  the  position 
of  woman  is  one  of  extreme  degradation ;  she  is  not 
only  a  mere  household  drudge,  but  she  is  the  slave 
of  man  in  all  his  needs,  and  her  life  is  one  of  con- 
tinual and  abject  toil.  No  sooner  is  a  girl  fit  for 
work  than  her  parents  send  her  to  tend  cattle  and  she 
is  compelled  to  take  her  part  in  all  the  ordinary 
household  duties.  Owing  to  the  system  of  walwar 
in  vogue  among  the  Afghans,  a  girl,  as  soon  as  she 
reaches  nubile  age,  is,  for  all  practical  purposes,  put 
up  for  auction  sale  to  the  highest  bidder.  The 
father  discourses  on  her  merits,  as  a  beauty  or  as  a 
housekeeper,  in  the  public  meeting  places,  and  in- 
vites offers  from  those  who  are  in  want  of  a  wife. 
Even  the  more  wealthy  and  more  respectable 
Afghans  are  not  above  this  system  of  thus  lauding 
the  human  wares  which  they  have  for  sale.  The  be- 
trothal of  girls  who  are  not  yet  born  is  frequent,  and 

249 


250         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

a  promise  of  a  girl  thus  made  is  considered  par- 
ticularly binding. 

"It  is  also  usual  for  an  award  of  compensation  for 
blood  to  be  ordered  to  be  paid  in  this  shape  of  girls, 
some  of  whom  are  living,  while  others  are  not  yet 
born. 

"Similar  customs  prevail  among  the  Jhalawan 
Brahuis,  but  they  have  not  yet  extended  to  all  the 
Balneh  tribes,  though  there  are  signs  that  the  poorer 
classes  are  inclined  to  adopt  them.  The  exchange 
of  girls,  however,  among  the  Baluchis  and  the  fram- 
ing of  conditions,  regarding  any  offspring  which 
may  result  from  the  marriage,  indicate  that  among 
this  race  also,  women  are  regarded  in  much  the  same 
light. 

"These  details  may  appear  to  be  beside  the  mark 
in  discussing  the  classification  of  women  as  de- 
pendents or  actual  workers,  but  I  relate  them  with 
the  object  of  showing  that  woman  in  Baluchistan  is 
regarded  as  little  more  than  a  chattel.  For  where 
such  a  state  of  parental  feeling  or  rather  want  of 
feeling  is  to  be  found,  is  it  surprising  to  find  that 
woman  is  considered  either  as  a  means  for  increas- 
ing man's  comforts,  in  the  greater  ease  with  which 
they  are  procured  by  her  toil,  or  an  object  for  the 
gratification  of  his  animal  passions? 

"A  wife  in  Baluchistan  must  not  only  carry  water, 
prepare  food,  and  attend  to  all  ordinary  household 
duties,  but  she  must  take  the  flocks  out  to  graze, 
groom  her  husband's  horse,  and  assist  in  the  cultiva- 


WOMEN    IN    BALUCHISTAN     251 

tion.  So  far  is  this  principle  carried  out  among  the 
Jajars  of  Zhob,  that  it  is  considered  incumbent  on  a 
married  woman  of  this  tribe  to  provide  means  by  her 
own  labor  for  clothing  herself,  her  husband,  and  her 
children,  and  she  receives  no  assistance,  monetary 
or  otherwise,  for  this  purpose  from  her  husband,  but 
in  addition  to  all  this,  the  husband  hopes  that  she 
may  become  the  mother  of  girls  who  will  fetch  as 
high  a  price  as  their  mother  did  before  them.  Hence 
it  happens  that  among  Afghans,  polygamy  is  only 
limited  by  the  purchasing  power  of  a  man;  and  a 
wife  is  looked  on  as  a  better  investment  than  cattle, 
for  in  a  country  where  drought  and  scarcity  are 
continually  present,  the  risk  of  loss  of  animals  is 
great,  whilst  the  offspring  of  a  woman,  if  a  girl,  will 
assuredly  fetch  a  high  price."  So  far  the  census 
report. 

Slavery,  polygamy,  and  concubinage  exist 
throughout  the  Kelat  state  and  Baluchi  area.  Sla- 
very is  of  a  domestic  character,  but  the  slave  is  often 
in  a  degraded  and  ignorant  condition,  and  in  times 
of  scarcity  almost  starved  by  his  owner. 

The  female  slaves  often  lead  the  lives  of  com- 
mon prostitutes,  especially  among  the  Baluch  tribes, 
where  the  state  of  the  women  generally  seems  very 
degraded. 

Regarding  polygamy,  the  average  man  is  unable 
to  afford  more  than  one  wife,  but  the  higher  classes 
often  possess  from  thirty  to  sixty  women,  many  of 
them  from  the  Hazare  tribes  of  Afghanistan,  whose 


252         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

women  and  children,  during  the  rebellion  in  the  late 
Amir's  reign,  were  sold  over  into  Baluchistan  and 
Afghanistan.  In  nearly  every  village  of  any  size 
one  sees  the  Hazare  women,  and  the  chief  will  talk 
of  buying  them  as  a  farmer  at  home  will  speak  of 
purchasing-  cattle. 

Worse  than  all,  one  has  daily  illustrations  of  the 
truth  that  the  sins  of  the  fathers  are  visited  on  their 
families,  in  the  degraded  victims  of  inherited  and 
acquired  disease  who  come  to  the  missionary  doc- 
tor for  relief,  healing  being  impossible  in  many  of 
the  cases  of  these  poor  women.  Pure  selfishness 
characterizes  the  men  in  their  relationship  with  their 
wives.  All  must  not  and  cannot  be  told  in  illustra- 
tion of  this,  but  what  happened  a  short  time  ago  in 
our  out-patient  department  of  the  Zenana  Mission 
Hospital  is  an  instance. 

A  young  Brahui  mother  was  brought  in  order  to 
be  relieved  from  suffering  by  an  operation  which 
would  require  her  to  remain  in  the  hospital  a  fort- 
night. When  this  was  proposed,  the  woman  who 
brought  her  said  at  once,  "If  she  does  that  her  hus- 
band will  send  her  away."  The  poor  girl  had  to  de- 
part untreated,  because  the  husband  feared  his 
bodily  comforts  might  be  less  if  she  were  not  there 
to  minister  to  them. 

May  those  who  see  this  dark  picture  of  the  effect 
of  Islam  on  womanhood  in  the  East,  do  all  that  is 
in  them  to  bring  the  glorious  light  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ  to  their  suffering-  sisters. 


XX 

IN  SOUTHERN  INDIA 

IN  South  India  the  Mohammedans  have  been 
more  or  less  influenced  by  the  Christian  and 
heathen  communities  by  which  they  are  surrounded. 
Many  of  them,  especially  those  belonging  to  the 
trading  communities,  have  married  women  of 
Hindoo  birth  who  have  become  nominal  Moham- 
medans. 

Amongst  the  higher  classes,  especially  amongst 
the  rich  and  well-to-do,  polygamy  is  still  common, 
though  there  are  many  men  who  have  only  one  wife 
and  few  who  have  more  than  two.  As  a  rule,  in  the 
city  of  Madras,  each  wife  will  have  a  small  place  of 
her  own.  It  is  a  rare  thing  for  several  wives  to  live 
in  the  same  house.  It  is,  however,  extremely  diffi- 
cult to  find  out,  without  undue  questioning,  who 
the  various  inmates  are.  Often  a  house  will  be  quite 
full  of  women  and  children  of  all  ages,  but  as  a  rule 
the  true  explanation  will  be  that  the  head  of  the 
house  has  many  sons,  each  of  whom  has  brought  his 
wife  to  live  in  his  old  home,  and  all  live  in  strict 
outward  obedience  to  the  mother-in-law.  How 
much  depends  upon  this  mother-in-law !  When  she 
is  a  kindly,  peaceable  woman,  things  go  fairly 

253 


254         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

smoothly,  but  terrible  things  happen  in  homes  where 
the  mother-in-law  is  harsh  and  severe. 

In  all  the  homes  the  purdah  is  strictly  kept,  and 
alas !  who  can  tell  what  dark  deeds  are  occasionally 
done  in  these  secluded  homes.  Still  education  is 
spreading  rapidly,  and  with  it  changes  must  and  do 
come.  Young  educated  Mohammedans  are  now 
wanting  educated  wives.  The  principal  Moham- 
medans in  Madras  come  very  much  in  contact  with 
Europeans  and  are  considerably  influenced  by  them, 
and  we  do  not  see  the  Moslem  as  he  appears  in 
Moslem  countries  under  Moslem  rule,  but  as  he  ap- 
pears after  living  for  generations  under  the  British 
flag.  If  he  disagrees  with  public  opinion  (which 
no  doubt  he  often  does)  he  keeps  his  opinion  very 
much  to  himself,  and  with  graceful  courtesy  agrees 
to  differ. 

The  purdah  system  is  one  that  brings  with  it  ter- 
rible evils,  and  yet  it  is  a  system  to  which  those  who 
apparently  suffer  from  it  most,  cling  the  most 
closely.  The  secluded  women  themselves  look  upon 
it  as  an  honor,  and  a  proof  of  the  value  set  upon 
them.  Even  the  very  poorest  people  seclude  their 
wives;  while  soldiers  on  the  march  hang  up  blankets, 
sheets,  and  even  rags  to  form  a  little  enclosure  for 
their  wives  at  each  halting  place.  Though  in- 
dividual women  will  often  speak  of  their  many 
troubles  they  rarely  mention  their  isolation,  and 
truly  pity  those  of  other  nations  who  are  not  taken 
equal  care  of.  With  education  this  aspect  of  affairs 


IN    SOUTHERN    INDIA  255 

will  change,  and  girls  who  have  been  educated  in 
mission  schools  view  things  in  a  very  different  light 
and  no  doubt  long  for  greater  freedom. 

The  best  and  only  method  of  helping  these  poor 
secluded  women  is  to  spread  amongst  them  the 
Gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Nothing  else  can 
really  help  them,  and  the  great  means  of  doing  so  is 
by  education.  Educating  them  to  read  so  that  they 
can  read  of  Him  in  their  seclusion,  and  educating 
them  as  thoroughly  as  possible  in  schools  and  house- 
to-house  visitation  so  that  they  can  understand  what 
they  read. 

Let  me  give  one  illustration  of  what  can  be  done  in 
this  way.  Some  years  ago  I  was  called  in  to  a  small 
zenana,  where  the  family  were  of  noble  birth  but 
extremely  poor;  so  proud  that  they  would  all  rather 
starve  than  take  money  or  tell  of  their  troubles. 
Three  little  girls  read  with  me,  and  very  bright  and 
intelligent  I  found  them.  The  mother  was  in  bad 
health  and  seemed  sad,  though  her  husband  was  al- 
ways very  kind  to  her.  The  girls  read  regularly  and 
got  very  fond  of  their  lessons  and  wished  they  could 
live  like  English  girls.  One  day  I  was  told  that  the 
elder  girl  was  to  be  married  the  next  week.  She 
was  in  great  distress,  for  she  knew  nothing  of  the 
man  who  had  been  chosen  for  her  and  feared 
naturally  that  he  might  be  uneducated  and  ignorant. 
I  was  unable  to  go  to  the  wedding,  and  to  my  great 
distress  the  young  bride  was  taken  away  to  a  dis- 
tant town  without  my  seeing  her  again.  Some 


256         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

months  passed  and  then  I  got  a  letter  from  a 
stranger.  It  was  well  written  and  well  expressed  in 
English  and  I  found  to  my  great  delight  that  it  was 
from  the  husband  of  my  old  pupil.  He  said  he  felt 
he  must  write  to  thank  me  for  having  educated  his 
wife  to  be  a  friend  and  companion  for  him.  He  had 
heard  from  a  friend  that  some  girls  of  his  own  class 
were  being  educated  in  Madras  and  he  had  asked  for 
one  in  marriage.  His  dread  for  years  had  been  to 
be  bound  to  an  ignorant  woman  and  now  his  fears 
were  dispersed ;  his  wife  was  a  great  pleasure  to  him 
and  her  judgment  of  great  use.  He  added,  "I  can 
only  think  that  her  progress  has  been  due  to  her 
study  of  the  Bible,  and  I  want  you  to  send  me  a 
copy  that  we  may  study  together."  He  is  dead  now 
and  the  girl  widow  is  in  great  distress.  She  says: 
"I  have  been  in  the  light  and  am  now  back  in  the 
dark."  This  shows  what  can  be  done  by  education 
to  raise  a  people  so  degraded  as  many  Moham- 
medans are. 

The  part  of  South  India  where  the  Moham- 
medans are  most  independent  is  the  "Nizam's  Do- 
minion," which  is  under  the  control  of  the  Nizam 
of  Hyderabad  (subject,  of  course,  to  England). 
Hyderabad  is  a  large  walled  city,  crowded  with 
rather  fierce-looking  Mohammedans,  and  it  is  only 
of  late  years  that  English  people  have  been  allowed 
within  the  walls  without  an  escort.  Even  at  the 
present  day  no  English  live  inside  the  walls.  Every- 
thing inside  is  purely  Mohammedan,  and  the  Eng- 


IN   SOUTHERN   INDIA  257 

lish  live  at  Secunderabad,  where  the  English  troops 
are  stationed,  just  a  few  miles  off. 

In  Hyderabad,  were  it  not  for  H.  H.  the  Nizam, 
many  of  the  Nawabs  would  be  glad  to  bring  their 
wives  out.  Quite  a  number  of  the  leading  nobles 
have  but  one  wife  and  glory  in  the  fact.  The  Crown 
Prince  (Sahibzada)  has  been  married  lately  to  a 
lady  of  noble  family.  This  was  probably  the  first 
Nizam  to  get  married.  The  Nizam,  from  the  fear 
of  intrigue,  fills  his  harem  with  low-class  women. 
Some  of  the  nobles  bring  their  wives  out  of  purdah 
as  soon  as  they  leave  the  state  on  a  holiday. 

Polygamy  is  still  common,  especially  among  the 
well-to-do.  A  ready  purchase  of  slaves,  during  the 
great  famine  of  1900,  as  concubines,  proves  that  this 
evil  still  exists.  Few  men  have  "many"  wives,  how- 
ever. 

The  effect  on  home  life  of  this  system  is  evident. 
The  Sahibzada  (the  next  Nizam)  when  a  boy  was 
taken  from  the  palace,  his  home,  to  escape  the  evils 
and  temptations  of  a  royal  zenana.  He  lived  in  a 
large  house  with  only  his  tutor  and  guardians  till 
his  marriage.  A  thoughtful  munshi  who  was 
anxious  about  his  children's  morals,  deplored  a  sys- 
tem that  made  the  mother  so  ignorant  of  the  outside 
world  and  so  unable  to  direct  a  young  son  aright. 

Let  me  give  you  a  few  of  my  experiences  with 
regard  to  Mussulman  women,  especially  during  my 
stay  in  Hyderabad.  One  zenana  we  used  to  visit 
belonged  to  an  old  man  who  professed  to  be  a  great 


258         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

reformer,  but  whose  women  were  still  in  strict  pur- 
dah. He  several  times  told  us  that  he  would  be  de- 
lighted if  we  could  persuade  his  wife  and  daughters 
to  go  out  with  us,  but  of  course  they  would  not  hear 
of  such  a  thing.  To  their  minds  it  is  only  the  very 
poor  and  degraded  who  wander  about  unveiled  or 
even  drive  in  an  open  carriage,  and  would  not  all  the 
ladies  of  their  acquaintance  be  horrified  at  the  bare 
idea  of  their  leaving  their  old  habits.  So  that  all 
our  arguments  and  persuasion  were  useless,  and  the 
husband  went  on  writing  his  papers  on  the  need  of 
reform  in  the  treatment  of  their  women.  With  this 
lady  and  her  daughters  we  one  day  went  to  a  fair 
for  women  only.  We  had  to  submit  to  having  our 
carriage  covered  with  a  very  large  sheet  so  that  no 
eye  could  see  through  the  closed  Venetians,  and 
when,  after  great  difficulty,  the  lady  had  been  placed 
in  the  carriage  we  drove  to  the  enclosure  where  the 
fair  was  to  be  held.  Right  into  the  enclosure  drove 
the  carriage,  and  then  the  ladies,  carefully  shrouded 
in  sheets,  were  conducted  through  a  narrow  gate- 
way into  a  second  enclosure,  and  there  were  thou- 
sands of  women  and  children.  Not  a  man  was  to 
be  seen  anywhere.  It  was  so  strange  to  see  them 
wandering  about  freely  in  their  bright-colored  gar- 
ments and  to  remember  the  streets  of  the  great  city 
they  had  come  from,  where  hardly  a  woman  is  ever 
seen.  These  women  never  crossed  the  threshold  of 
their  houses  before  perhaps,  so  it  was  like  fairyland 
to  them. 


IN    SOUTHERN    INDIA  259 

We  found  one  large,  gaily  decorated  erection  be- 
longing to  one  of  the  Nawabs  of  Hyderabad,  and  the 
women  called  us  in  and  plied  us  with  many  ques- 
tions, and  then  begged  us  to  go  to  their  house  to 
see  them.  We  went  one  day  to  find  these  new 
friends.  After  driving  two  or  three  miles  we  came 
to  a  quaint  walled  village,  passed  under  the  gateway, 
and  were  directed  to  the  great  man's  house.  We 
were  told  he  had  two  hundred  women  in  his  zenana. 
In  front  of  the  house  we  saw  a  young  man  with  a 
drawn  sword,  just  about  to  mount  his  horse.  He 
seemed  much  amused  when  we  told  him  we  wanted 
to  go  and  see  the  ladies,  but  he  conducted  us  in  to  see 
the  head  of  the  house.  He  was  very  polite,  and 
asked  us  why  we  had  come,  etc.  We  told  him  our 
commission  and  showed  our  Gospel,  and  at  last  he 
said,  "Oh,  yes !  You  can  go  in."  So  we  were  con- 
ducted to  the  other  side  of  the  courtyard  and  came  to 
an  enormous  iron  gate.  A  little  door  in  the  middle 
of  it  was  opened  for  us  to  squeeze  through,  and  we 
were  in  the  zenana. 

Outside  were  plenty  of  sun  and  air,  a  grand,  spa- 
cious courtyard  with  beds  of  flowers,  and  arched 
verandahs  with  large  cushions  to  sit  on  and  lean 
against. 

Inside  was  a  narrow  courtyard  which  gave  you 
the  impression  of  not  being  big  enough  for  all  the 
women  and  children  who  crowded  round.  No 
garden,  no  flowers,  no  pretty  verandahs,  nor 
cushions.  Old  ladies  and  young  girls,  my  heart 


260         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

sank  as  I  saw  them  all  shut  in  together  in  this 
prison.  They  were  very  pleased  for  us  to  sing  for 
them,  but  it  seemed  impossible  to  talk  to  them. 
Even  if  one  wanted  to  listen  the  others  would  not 
let  her.  We  always  came  away  with  a  sad  feeling. 
The  woman  who  first  asked  us  to  go  seemed  to  be 
in  disgrace  when  we  went  the  second  time,  and 
would  not  come  near  us,  and  there  seemed  to  be 
quite  a  little  world  to  itself  of  intrigue  and  quarrel, 
joy,  and  sorrow,  and  sin  in  there.  One  old  lady 
would  have  sung  to  her  the  quaint  Hindustani  bha- 
jam  "Rise,  pilgrim,  get  ready,  the  time  is  fast  go- 
ing," but  she  did  not  want  to  hear  about  our  Lord 
Jesus. 

One  day,  when  walking  up  a  street  in  Hyderabad 
city  selling  Gospels,  a  boy  called  us  into  a  large 
house.  Here  we  found  a  little  Nawab  being  taught 
by  his  teacher,  who  was  very  polite.  The  great 
houses  give  you  a  curious  feeling;  all  is  grand  and 
spacious,  but  nothing  is  comfortable  or  home-like. 
Great  verandahs  and  balconies  all  round  the  central 
courtyard  and  garden.  After  hearing  our  errand, 
the  young  Nawab  offered  to  take  us  to  his  mother 
and  grandmother.  We  went  with  him.  In  one 
corner  of  the  courtyard  was  a  funny  little  hole,  we 
could  not  call  it  a  door,  with  a  dirty  piece  of  sack- 
ing hanging  in  front  of  it.  We  went  through  and 
found  ourselves  in  the  zenana.  Crowds  of  women 
and  a  dirty,  dull,  dreary-looking  place  are  all  that 
stays  in  my  memory;  but  we  were  not  allowed  to 


IN    SOUTHERN    INDIA  261 

look  long,  for  no  sooner  did  the  old  grandmother 
find  we  had  the  Gospel  of  Jesus,  than  she  had  us 
hustled  out.  In  vain  the  boy  and  younger  woman 
pleaded  for  us  to  stay.  She  would  not  hear  of  it, 
so  we  had  to  go.  We  left  some  Gospels  with  the 
boy.  The  teacher  begged  for  the  whole  Bible,  which 
we  sold  him  a  few  days  later.  Into  many  zenanas 
we  went  in  this  way,  but  we  did  not  get  invited  a 
second  time  as  a  rule,  and  we  generally  find  that  hav- 
ing once  been  able  to  tell  the  Gospel  in  a  Mussulman 
house,  if  we  do  go  a  second  time,  we  find  the  women 
primed  with  stock  arguments  against  us. 

We  find  we  get  nearest  to  them  in  the  medical 
work.  We  hear  tales  and  stories  in  the  dead  of 
night  then,  when  sitting  with  them,  which  we  do  not 
get  a  hint  of  at  other  times.  I  remember  a  woman 
once  showing  me  her  arm  all  covered  with  cuts 
which  she  said  her  husband  had  done  to  her  because 
she  had  been  fighting  with  the  other  wife.  We,  with 
our  ideas  of  freedom  and  liberty,  may  think  these 
women  unhappy,  but  they  do  not  seem  to  be  more 
so  than  our  own  women.  They  are  quite  used  to 
their  own  life  and  look  down  upon  us  poor  things, 
who  are  so  degraded  that  we  allow  men  to  see  us 
freely  with  no  shame !  They  see  no  privation  in  not 
being  allowed  to  go  out,  or  to  see  the  world,  and 
yet  it  is  a  suicidal  system.  For  the  women  have  not 
the  least  idea  of  what  the  men  and  boys  are  doing. 

Many  a  time  have  I  seen  a  mother  try  to  chastize 
her  boy,  but  he  had  only  to  get  to  the  door  and  slip 


262         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

out  and  she  could  not  go  after  him.  Since  the  girls 
can  never  go  out  they  do  not  need  much  education 
of  any  sort,  and  the  husband  knows  the  wife  has  no 
knowledge  whatever  of  the  world  outside,  so  what  is 
the  use  of  talking  to  her  ?  So  amongst  Mussulmans 
there  is  stagnation,  and  they  of  nearly  all  the  people 
in  India  make  least  progress.  Ninety-five  per  cent, 
of  them  are  classed  as  illiterate  in  the  last  census! 
Still  progress  is  being  made,  we  feel  quite  sure, 
and  one  thing  seems  to  prove  this.  Though  the 
Mohammedans  in  South  India  are  backward  and  full 
of  things  to  be  deplored,  yet  they  are  innocent  of 
many  things  which  are  evidently  carried  on  in  other 
Mohammedan  countries.  We,  in  South  India,  who 
have  for  years  worked  amongst  Moslems  never 
heard  of  the  customs  which  seem  to  prevail  in  Egypt. 
Divorce  is  rarely  heard  of.  Possibly  it  is  too  expen- 
sive, as  the  husband  must  return  the  dower.  A 
woman  being  married  to  half  a  dozen  husbands  in 
succession  is  unheard  of.  Surely  this  shows  that 
where  education  spreads  and  where  Christianity,  un- 
consciously perhaps,  permeates  the  whole,  there  is  a 
brighter  day  dawning  for  Islam.  What  is  wanted 
is  more  teachers,  more  helpers  to  take  up  the  work 
of  spreading  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  in  Moslem 
lands. 


XXI 
THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WOMEN  OF  TURKESTAN 

AMONG  the  numerous  nations  and  tribes  which  ad- 
here to  the  doctrine  of  Mohammed,  the  condition  of 
women  is  of  course  not  everywhere  the  same.  In 
the  vicinity  of  Europe,  e.  g.,  in  European  Turkey, 
the  influence  of  European  morality  and  customs  has 
become  more  and  more  prevailing  in  spite  of  the 
resistance  of  Moslem  priests.  Another  difference 
in  the  condition  of  women,  which  can  be  observed 
everywhere  and  which  we  shall  occasionally  refer  to, 
arises  from  their  social  position;  among  the  richer 
classes  a  woman  must  submit  to  rules  and  customs 
different  from  those  which  are  standard  among  the 
poorer  classes.  The  fundamental  views,  however, 
are  the  same;  the  evil  is  one,  though  its  outward 
appearance  may  differ  in  some  respects. 

The  misfortune  of  a  Mohammedan  woman  begins 
at  her  birth,  for  instead  of  rejoicing  at  the  arrival 
of  her  little  daughter,  the  mother  complains  that  she 
is  not  a  son.  She  knows  that  a  girl  will  leave  her 
at  the  age  of  about  fourteen,  in  order  to  live  in  her 
husband's  house,  and  after  that  she  will  hardly  have 
any  connection  with  her  mother,  whereas  a  son  will 

263 


264        OUR   MOSLEM   SISTERS 

stay  at  his  mother's  house  and  support  her  in  case 
she  should  be  divorced  from  her  husband.  More- 
over the  mother  is  anxious  lest  her  husband  dismiss 
her  and  take  another  wife.  In  consequence  the 
mother  feels  less  affection  for  her  daughter  than  she 
would  have  felt  for  a  son ;  she  takes  little  care  of  her 
and  neglects  her.  When  about  six  years  old  the  little 
girl  begins  to  do  housework;  she  is  ordered  to  carry 
water,  to  sweep  the  house,  to  do  kitchen-work,  and 
so  on.  For  the  least  mistake  she  is  scolded  and 
beaten,  and  even  if  it  happens  without  any  reason, 
she  is  not  allowed  to  complain  or  to  defend  herself. 
By  this  treatment  the  mother  prepares  her  for  the 
hard  lot  which  awaits  her.  Sometimes  also  she  will 
exclaim :  "If  you  had  had  good  fortune,  you  would 
have  been  a  boy  and  not  a  girl."  The  father  treats 
her  with  no  less  cruelty,  so  as  to  give  her  the  im- 
pression that  she  is  indeed  an  unfortunate  creature 
whom  God  does  not  love. 

At  meal  times  girls  take  the  last  place  and  must  be 
content  with  what  others  leave  for  them.  When  on 
holidays  or  on  other  occasions  boys  get  presents,  the 
girls  go  away  empty-handed.  Even  for  boy's  dress 
more  is  spent  than  for  that  of  the  girls. 

The  teaching  of  girls  is  generally  confined  to 
prayers  and  a  few  chapters  of  the  Koran,  which  they 
learn  by  heart  mechanically.  Very  seldom  are  they 
taught  to  read  and  write.  The  exceptions  are  few 
and  are  always  the  only  children  of  the  rich  or  the 
noble.  By  these  exceptions  we  know  that  Moham- 


MOSLEM   WOMEN   OF  THE   BETTER   CLASS 
IN   STREET   DRESS  (SYRIA) 


.V*, ,  i        ^.T 


WOMEN   OP   TURKESTAN        265 

medan  girls  are  in  every  respect  sufficiently  gifted 
for  a  higher  education.  Many  of  them  have  become 
prominent  scholars  or  artists,  perfectly  able  to  rival 
men.  This  has  been  proved  by  the  prose  works 
and  poems  of  Zubdat-ul-Nissa  (that  is,  Flower  of 
Women) — by  those  of  Leilai — and  in  modern  times 
by  the  Persian  woman  Zarin  Tadj,  still  better  known 
by  her  surname  Qurat-ul-Ain  (that  is,  "Eyes'  Com- 
fort"). This  woman  descended  from  a  priest's 
family,  her  father  as  well  as  her  uncle  and  father-in- 
law  had  been  great  theologians,  and  her  cousin,  to 
whom  she  was  married,  was  a  distinguished  scholar. 
Her  extraordinary  beauty  seems  to  have  been  sur- 
passed only  by  her  intellect  and  character.  When 
but  a  child  she  took  a  great  interest  in  the  conver- 
sations on  science  which  were  often  carried  on  in 
her  family,  and  surprised  everybody  by  her  sharp 
wit  and  rich  mind. 

When  later  on  she  became  acquainted  with  the 
doctrines  of  the  Bab,  a  new  leader,  who  appeared  in 
Persia  about  the  middle  of  last  century,  she  was  so 
deeply  impressed  by  them  that  she  entered  into 
intercourse  with  him,  and  in  spite  of  the  resistance 
of  her  family,  appeared  in  public  in  order  to  pro- 
claim her  master's  doctrines. 

Let  us  try  to  give  Mohammedan  women  a  share  in 
the  higher  spiritual  life  of  their  western  sisters,  and 
the  slave  creatures  who  serve  only  their  husbands' 
pleasure  and  ease  will  become  companions  in  his 
life-work  and  educators  of  his  children.  This 


266         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

would  produce  a  perfect  change  in  Moslem  family- 
life. 

This  vision  of  the  future,  however,  is  not  yet  ful- 
filled. The  Mohammedan  girl  spends  her  child- 
hood in  a  dreary  way,  knowing  that  until  her  four- 
teenth or  fifteenth  year  life  will  not  be  changed. 
Then  her  parents  will  marry  her  to  a  man,  in  the 
choice  of  whom  they  will  be  led  by  financial  reasons 
only.  The  young  man's  mother  or  some  other  elder 
relation  of  his  chooses  a  bride  for  him,  and  examines 
the  girl  with  regard  to  her  health  and  bodily  charms. 
Sometimes  the  young  people  are  allowed  to  ex- 
change a  few  words  with  each  other  in  presence 
of  the  mother,  but  to  get  acquainted  with  each  other 
as  in  Christian  lands  is  considered  superfluous. 
After  marriage  she  is  a  slave  not  only  to  her  hus- 
band, but  also  to  her  parents-in-law,  towards  whom 
she  must  behave  most  courteously,  and  whom  she 
must  serve  sometimes  even  before  serving  her  hus- 
band. Every  morning  she  rises  first  and  cleans  the 
house;  then  she  must  bring  her  father-in-law  water 
to  wash  himself,  and  afterwards  his  repast.  Pru- 
dence makes  her  try  to  gain  the  affection  of  her 
parents-in-law,  that  they  may  protect  her,  in  case 
her  husband  should  dismiss  her.  Moreover,  in  the 
first  year  after  her  marriage  a  young  wife  is  not 
allowed  to  answer  the  questions  of  her  parents  and 
brothers-in-law  save  by  bowing  or  shaking  her 
head;  only  if  no  one  else  is  present,  she  may  talk 
to  them.  In  the  fourth  year  she  is  permitted  to  an- 


WOMEN   OF   TURKESTAN        267 

swer  by  saying  "no"  or  "yes";  after  the  birth  of  a 
child,  however,  she  may  talk  to  every  one.  Besides, 
it  is  considered  unbecoming  that  in  the  presence  of 
her  parents-in-law  she  should  sit  near  her  husband 
or  occupy  herself  with  her  children.  The  only 
change  and  pleasure  in  a  married  woman's  life  are 
the  visits  which  she  exchanges  every  now  and  then 
with  her  parents,  relations,  and  friends,  as  well  as 
the  weddings  and  religious  festivities  which  she  is 
allowed  to  attend. 

The  greatest  misfortune  in  the  life  of  a  Moham- 
medan woman,  however,  is  the  absolute  uncertainty 
of  the  duration  of  her  marriage,  which  robs  her  of 
all  real  happiness.  According  to  Moslem  law,  every 
Mohammedan  is  entitled  to  take  four  legitimate 
wives.  Although  Moslem  law  demands  that  a  man 
who  has  several  wives  ought  to  treat  them  equally, 
and  forbids  the  neglect  of  one  by  preferring  the 
other,  matters  are  generally  different  in  reality.  The 
first  wife,  instead  of  retaining  a  certain  pre-eminence, 
as  would  be  just,  gradually  becomes  the  servant  of 
her  fellow-wife  or  wives;  if  not,  her  husband  dis- 
misses her  at  last.  It  is  impossible  to  give  all  the 
particulars  of  the  misery  which  needs  must  result 
from  such  marriages,  not  only  for  the  wife  herself, 
but  very  often  also  for  her  children. 

The  idea,  that  woman  is  a  subordinate  creature, 
destined  only  to  serve  man,  has  been  so  to  say 
numerically  expressed  in  the  Mohammedan  law  of 
inheritance,  all  the  particulars  of  which  are  founded 


268         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

on  the  principle:  two  parts  to  man,  one  part  to 
woman.  For  instance,  after  the  death  of  the  wife, 
the  husband  inherits  a  quarter  of  her  fortune,  in 
case  there  are  children;  if  there  are  none,  half  of  it, 
whereas,  the  wife  inherits  only  a  quarter  or  an 
eighth.  If  several  wives  survive  their  husband, 
they  inherit  these  parts  together.  Accordingly, 
daughters  inherit  only  half  as  much  as  sons. 

Very  seldom  a  Mohammedan  widow  is  married 
again.  She  generally  stays  in  her  late  husband's 
house,  in  order  to  educate  her  children,  for  whom  a 
tutor  is  chosen.  The  tutor  administers  the  children's 
fortune  and  gives  the  mother  as  much  money  as  is 
necessary  for  their  subsistence.  When  the  children 
are  grown  up,  the  mother  generally  stays  for  the  rest 
of  her  life  at  one  of  her  sons',  not  so  often  at  a 
daughter's.  In  poor  families,  however,  the  woman 
strives  hard  to  gain  her  living  by  washing,  spinning, 
sewing,  knitting  stockings,  and  other  things  of  that 
kind.  Later  on  the  grown-up  children  sustain  their 
mother,  so  that  women  who  have  children  spend 
their  old  age  in  comparative  comfort.  If,  however, 
a  widow,  perhaps  for  want,  consents  to  be  married 
again,  her  own  condition  may  be  improved,  but  her 
children  suffer. 

Some  older  women  must  be  mentioned  who  are 
rather  frequent  in  Moslem  lands,  and  who  form  a 
class  by  themselves.  Generally  they  have  been  mar- 
ried several  times,  but  either  have  no  children,  or 
have  abandoned  them  to  their  fate.  They  pass  their 


WOMEN   OF   TURKESTAN        269 

old  age  without  a  companion  and  gain  their  living 
in  as  easy  a  manner  as  possible,  being  not  very  par- 
ticular in  choosing  the  means.  Outwardly  they  seem 
to  be  utterly  devoted  to  their  religious  duties,  and 
are  always  seen  to  murmur  prayers  and  count  their 
beads,  by  which  behavior  even  religious  people  are 
often  deceived  so  as  to  support  them.  On  closer 
observation,  however,  their  real  occupation  proves 
to  be  roaming  about  in  the  houses  and  intruding 
themselves  in  a  skilful  and  unobserved  way  in  order 
to  spy  out  people's  whereabouts.  They  try  to  make 
themselves  agreeable  to  the  female  members  of  the 
household  by  tale-bearing  or  making  commissions  of 
different  kinds,  particularly  those  which  the  women 
cannot  make  themselves  or  which  the  landlord  of  the 
house  must  not  know  about.  Thus  they  gain  influ- 
ence over  those  whom  they  have  served,  and  assure 
themselves  of  their  gratitude.  They  promote  love- 
intrigues,  make  marriages,  and  so  on;  if  desired, 
they  will  also  go  to  some  celebrated  fortune-teller, 
in  order  to  secure  a  talisman. 

These  talismans  or  amulets  generally  consist  of  a 
scrap  of  paper,  on  which  there  are  written  sayings, 
names,  letters,  figures,  or  signs  with  common  ink, 
or  often  with  a  yellow  liquid  made  of  saffron,  musk, 
or  amber;  sometimes  even  serpent's  blood  is  used 
for  this  purpose.  If  the  talisman  is  to  be  worn  on 
the  body,  the  paper  is  folded  in  the  form  of  a  tri- 
angle or  a  quadrant,  then  wrapped  in  a  piece  of 
cotton  which  has  been  made  water-proof,  and  at 


270         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

last  covered  with  a  piece  of  fine  cloth.  The  amulet 
is  fastened  upon  the  head  or  tied  around  the  upper- 
arm  or  worn  on  the  breast,  with  a  string  around 
the  neck.  Some  people  sew  it  upon  the  inside  of 
their  clothes  so  that  it  lies  on  the  backbone  or  on 
the  heart.  Sometimes  the  amulet  must  be  fastened 
with  seven-colored  silk.  Sometimes  also  it  is  thrown 
into  water,  to  be  drunk  as  soon  as  the  writing  is 
dissolved,  or  it  is  burnt  and  they  breathe  the 
smoke. 

Talismans  and  amulets  are  said  to  protect  men 
and  animals  from  the  evil  eye,  from  the  bite  of 
wild  beasts,  and  from  wounds  in  war;  they  cause 
love  or  hatred,  they  produce  or  prevent  sleep  and 
madness.  Their  preparation  is  considered  a  special 
science,  which  demands  special  study  and  is  practised 
by  so-called  magicians  or  fortune-tellers,  but  also  by 
dervishes,  and  even  by  priests.  The  latter  generally 
only  write  verses  from  the  Koran,  which  women 
wear  around  their  neck  as  amulets. 

Perhaps  all  this  superstition  is  harmless  in  itself 
or  does  a  direct  harm  only  to  their  purses.  In- 
directly, however,  it  has  a  demoralizing  influence 
upon  all  classes  of  people,  especially  upon  women, 
who,  as  guardians  of  customs,  are  most  attached  to 
these  fables.  Only  true  civilization  and  Christianity 
will  redeem  and  deliver. 

In  order  to  deepen  the  impression  of  what  has 
been  said  and  to  add  something  from  real  life,  I  will 
tell  the  story  of  a  Moslem  woman,  just  as  I  heard 


WOMEN    OF   TURKESTAN        271 

it  in  Kashgar,  where  I  have  been  working  for  five 
years  for  the  spreading  of  the  Gospel. 

Some  fifty  years  ago  there  lived  in  Kashgar  a  man 
called  Chodsha  Burhaneddin.  He  was  descended 
from  a  family  which  since  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  has  given  Kashgar  its  kings.  His 
fellow  citizens  esteemed  him  very  much  on  account 
of  his  strict  observance  of  the  religious  prescriptions 
of  Islam.  He  married  a  woman  of  noble  descent, 
and  for  some  time  contented  himself  with  his  one 
wife.  But  according  to  Islam  it  is  a  merit  to  take 
if  possible  four  wives,  in  order  to  increase  the  num- 
ber of  the  adherents  of  Islam.  For  this  reason 
Chodsha  brought  home  another  wife  whenever  he 
travelled  on  business  to  the  Russian  town  of  Andi- 
shan  on  that  side  of  the  Tienshan,  until  the  number 
of  four  was  full.  The  consequence  was  that  he  not 
only  neglected  his  first  wife,  but  even  had  her  do  all 
the  housework  alone,  thus  making  her  the  servant 
of  his  three  other  wives.  She  had  to  serve  them 
from  early  morning  till  late  at  night.  Without 
grumbling  and  with  great  diligence  the  poor  woman 
took  all  the  work  upon  herself;  secretly,  however, 
she  bewailed  her  hard  lot  and  employed  her  few 
free  hours  for  the  education  of  her  little  daughter. 
However,  she  did  not  succeed  in  satisfying  her  hus- 
band. He  always  found  fault,  beat  her,  and  bade 
her  not  show  her  face  before  him.  His  wife  sub- 
mitted patiently  and  silently;  she  desisted  even  from 
paying  visits  to  her  parents  and  acquaintances, 


272         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

which  would  have  given  her  some  comfort,  lest  her 
husband  think  she  had  gone  to  her  beloved  ones  to 
complain  of  his  treatment.  Four  years  passed. 
Meanwhile  several  political  revolutions  had  taken 
place  in  Kashgar.  In  China  the  numerous  Chinese 
Mohammedans  had  revolted,  and  the  revolt  had 
spread  over  the  western  countries.  In  eastern 
Turkestan  the  Chinese  officials  as  well  as  the  soldiers 
and  the  merchants  had  been  killed  by  the  Moham- 
medans; only  a  few  escaped  death  by  accepting 
Islam.  This  state  of  matters  was  put  an  end  to  by 
Jakob  Beg.  He  had  come  from  Chanab  Chokand, 
north  of  the  Tienshan,  under  the  pretext  of  helping 
the  descendant  of  the  old  Kashgarian  dynasty  of 
the  Chodshas  to  the  throne.  In  due  time  he  put  the 
Prince  aside  and  founded  a  kingdom  of  his  own, 
which  included  the  whole  of  eastern  Turkestan. 
After  taking  hold  of  the  government  he  tried  to 
weaken  the  Chodshas  in  every  way  possible,  some  of 
them  were  assassinated,  others  put  in  prison  in  order 
to  be  executed.  One  of  the  latter  was  Chodsha 
Burhaneddin.  As  soon  as  his  wife  heard  that  her 
husband  had  been  made  a  prisoner,  she  hurried  to 
her  father,  who  was  well  esteemed  at  Jakob  Beg's 
court,  and  besought  him  to  make  the  most  of  his 
influence  in  order  to  save  her  husband.  Then  she 
prepared  a  meal,  took  it  to  her  imprisoned  husband, 
and  encouraged  him.  At  his  request  she  roused  her 
father  still  more  so  as  to  betake  himself  at  once 
to  Jakob  Beg,  and  to  prevail  on  him  to  set  the 


WOMEN   OF   TURKESTAN        273 

prisoner  at  liberty  that  same  night.  Chodsha  Bur- 
haneddin  returned  to  his  house  and  entered  the 
room  of  his  wife  whom  he  had  so  long  neglected,  in 
order  to  thank  her  for  his  delivery.  Afterwards 
she  had  one  more  child,  a  boy. 

Some  years  after  these  events  Chodsha  fell  ill. 
Knowing  that  his  end  was  near,  repentance  over- 
whelmed him,  and  he  asked  his  first  wife  to  pardon 
him  whatever  wrong  he  had  done  her.  It  was  only 
she  whom  he  wished  to  be  near  him  in  his  pains. 
His  other  wives  he  did  not  at  all  care  for  now,  and 
detested  them  even  in  such  a  manner  as  to  drive 
them  away,  whenever  they  approached  him.  When 
at  last  death  had  released  him  from  his  pains,  his 
three  younger  wives  were  married  again,  leaving 
their  children  to  their  fate.  His  first  wife,  however, 
remained  faithful  to  him  even  after  death;  she  re- 
fused all  proposals,  honorable  as  some  of  them  were, 
and  devoted  herself  entirely  to  the  education  of  her 
son  and  daughter,  whom  she  lived  to  see  married. 

From  this  example,  to  which  many  others  might 
be  added,  it  becomes  clear  to  what  deep  humilia- 
tions Mohammedan  women  are  subject,  and  what 
treasure  of  faithfulness  and  sacrifice  are  neverthe- 
less hidden  in  some  of  these  oppressed  and  crushed 
lives.  Without  knowing  the  doctrines  of  Christian 
religion,  Chodsha's  wife  had  practised  them.  What 
she  dimly  anticipated,  has  been  fulfilled  in  her  son, 
whom  I  baptized  as  the  first-fruits  in  Kashgar,  and 
received  into  the  church.  Did  the  Mohammedan 


274         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

women  but  know  to  what  height  Christianity  would 
raise  them!  Could  they  but  compare  the  Moham- 
medan proverb :  "Do  not  ask  a  woman's  advice,  and 
if  she  gives  it,  do  the  contrary,"  with  the  Apostle 
Paul's  words :  "So  ought  men  to  love  their  wives  as 
their  own  bodies.  He  that  loveth  his  wife,  loveth 
himself"  (Ephes.  v :  28),  and  "There  is  neither  male 
nor  female,  for  ye  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus,"  they 
would  know  the  distance  which  separates  Christian 
views  from  those  of  Islam. 

If  on  summer  evenings  when  the  heat  of  the  day 
is  over,  the  inhabitant  of  a  Mohammedan  town  goes 
out  for  a  walk  to  enjoy  the  evening  coolness  before 
the  gates,  he  will  sometimes  pass  the  burial-grounds. 
Weeping  and  wailing  come  to  his  ear.  Pitifully  he 
will  look  at  the  figures  of  mourning  women  who 
are  kneeling  by  the  graves.  But  the  sorrow  which 
is  revealed  there  is  not  always  meant  for  the  loss 
of  some  beloved  one  dead;  very  often  women  visit 
the  graves  of  their  relations  or,  if  they  have  none,  of 
saints,  in  order  to  weep  out  undisturbed  and  unheard 
their  hopeless,  desolate  lives.  In  their  houses  they 
dare  not  give  way  to  their  sorrows  for  fear  of  their 
husbands,  therefore  they  go  to  the  dead  in  order  to 
tell  them  their  griefs! 

May  these  words  bring  that  sound  of  wailing  to 
the  hearts  of  Christian  women!  May  they,  for 
whom  Christian  morality  has  made  life  fair  and 
worthy,  who  as  a  beloved  husband's  true  friend  and 
companion  take  part  in  his  joys  and  sorrows,  or 


WOMEN    OF   TURKESTAN        275 

those  who  in  the  fulfilment  of  self-chosen  duties 
have  found  happiness  and  content,  may  they  often 
remember  the  hard  fate  of  their  Moslem  sisters  in 
the  Orient,  and  help  carry  the  message  of  salvation 
to  them. 


XXII 
IN   FAR-OFF  CATHAY 

THE  social  condition  of  Mohammedan  women  in 
Kansu  Province  in  Northwest  China  is  not  so  hard 
as  those  of  their  sisters  in  the  more  western  coun- 
tries. The  Mohammedans,  having  been  in  China 
now  about  a  thousand  years,  have,  save  in  the  mat- 
ter of  idolatry,  practically  adopted  the  Chinese  cus- 
toms, even  to  the  binding  of  the  feet  of  their  little 
girls.  Among  the  wealthier  Mohammedans,  as  with 
the  wealthier  Chinese,  polygamy  is  common,  many 
having  two  or  three  wives,  and  among  the  middle 
class,  when  there  has  been  no  issue  by  the  first 
wife,  many  take  unto  themselves  a  second  wife. 
Divorces  are  of  rare  occurrence. 

There  are  no  harems.  The  better-class  women 
are  not  seen  much  on  the  streets,  but  in  the  coun- 
try places,  the  farmer's  wife,  daughters,  and  daugh- 
ters-in-law go  out  into  the  fields,  weed  and  reap  the 
corn,  carry  water,  gather  in  fuel,  and  wear  no  veil. 
The  daughters  and  daughters-in-law  of  the  better 
class,  from  the  age  of  fifteen  to  thirty,  often  wear  a 
black  veil  when  going  on  a  visit  to  their  friends,  as 
also  do  the  Chinese. 

276 


IN   FAR-OFF   CATHAY  277 

In  the  busy  farming  seasons,  the  Mohammedan 
men,  with  their  wives  of  the  poorer  class,  hire  them- 
selves out  to  the  Chinese  farmers,  and  come  down  in 
large  numbers  to  weed  in  the  spring  and  gather  in 
the  corn  in  summer  and  autumn.  They  bring  their 
children  with  them  and  stay  on  the  farm  till  the 
busy  time  is  over.  We  always  get  a  goodly  number 
of  visits  from  them. 

Speaking  of  the  Mohammedan  male  population 
in  our  prefecture  of  Si-ning,  the  vast  majority  are 
ignorant  of  the  tenets  of  the  Koran,  know  little  of 
anything,  save  that  Masheng-ren  is  their  prophet, 
and  that  there  is  a  Supreme  Being  somewhere  of 
whom  they  are  almost  as  ignorant  as  the  Chinese. 
They  seem  to  realize  it  a  duty  to  attend  worship 
on  two  special  occasions  each  year,  but  the  majority 
of  them  never  darken  the  mosque  doors  at  other 
times.  Seldom  a  day  passes  but  we  have  Moham- 
medan visitors,  and  the  answer  we  get  from  nine  out 
of  every  ten  to  questions  about  their  doctrine  is,  "We 
are  only  blind  folks  and  we  do  not  know  any- 
thing." Their  ah-hongs  or  pastors  do  not  trouble 
to  teach  any  save  the  students,  for  which  they  are 
paid.  Some  even  speak  of  heaven  as  being  Khuda 
(God).  In  many  ways  are  they  influenced  by  the 
Chinese  around  them. 

Already  I  have  referred  to  the  binding  of  the 
feet  of  their  little  girls.  In  sickness  it  is  a  common 
thing  to  see  the  patient  with  a  tiny  book  written  in 
Arabic  bound  up  in  red  cloth  and  sewn  on  the 


278         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

shoulder  or  back  of  the  outside  garment,  to  shield 
them  from  the  evil  spirits.  Many  also  observe  the 
lucky  and  unlucky  days  in  the  Chinese  calendar,  by 
removing  from  one  house  to  another.  One  of  our 
patients  had  even  resorted  to  the  Buddhists  or  ag- 
nostics to  recite  prayers  and  use  charms  to  drive 
away  his  sickness. 

At  the  present  rate  of  spiritual  declension,  in  an- 
other century  many  will  either  be  Buddhists  or 
agnostics. 

The  times  of  prayer  are  not  observed  save  by  the 
ah-hongs  and  mullahs  and  a  few  of  the  old  men. 

These  few  particulars  showing  the  indifference 
and  ignorance  among  the  men,  what  can  be  ex- 
pected of  the  women?  They  are  heathen,  except  in 
name.  In  our  prefecture,  we  receive  a  welcome 
among  them  whenever  we  go,  but  how  long  this 
will  continue  it  is  hard  to  tell.  In  the  southwest  of 
this  province,  where  formerly  much  friendliness  was 
shown  towards  the  missionaries,  latterly  a  spirit  of 
bitterness  and  opposition  has  been  manifested  owing 
to  a  few  becoming  interested  in  the  Gospel  and 
attending  regularly  on  Sunday.  The  ah-hongs  have 
warned  their  people  that  if  any  join  the  church  they 
will  be  put  to  death  when  the  foreign  ambassador 
arrives  from  Turkey.  Who  this  individual  is,  is 
not  very  apparent,  and  from  whence  he  will  get  his 
power  to  put  Chinese  subjects  to  death  is  a  mystery. 
Doubtless  it  is  only  a  scheme  of  the  ah-hongs  to  put 
the  people  in  fear. 


IN   FAR-OFF   CATHAY  279 

So  far,  however,  we  have  open  doors  here  and  no 
opposition,  but  owing  to  lack  of  workers  there  is  NO 
ONE  TO  ENTER  IN,  NO  ONE  to  take  the  Bread  of 
Life  to  them,  NO  ONE  to  bear  the  glad  news  to 
them. 

After  the  rebellion  of  1895,  when  retribution  fell 
heavily  on  the  Mohammedans,  thousands  of  them 
were  reduced  to  the  verge  of  starvation;  women, 
who  had  been  accustomed  to  the  comforts  of  a  good 
home,  were  deprived  of  their  warm  winter  clothing 
and  left  only  with  thin  summer  tattered  garments, 
right  in  the  depth  of  winter  with  a  thermometer 
registering  below  zero  (Fahrenheit).  By  the  help 
of  many  kind  friends  in  different  parts  of  China,  we 
were  enabled  to  open  a  soup-kitchen  and  provide  hot 
food  every  day  for  six  weeks,  during  the  bitterest 
part  of  the  winter,  to  an  average  of  three  hundred 
persons  each  day,  and  also  to  give  away  several 
warm  garments  to  those  in  direst  need.  Every  day 
we  taught  the  people  to  repeat  hymns,  grace  before 
meat,  and  told  them  stories  from  the  Bible.  On  the 
Chinese  New  Year's  Day  we  gave  them  a  special 
treat  of  mutton-broth  and  afterwards  showed  them, 
with  the  magic  lantern,  some  scenes  in  the  life  of  our 
Lord.  In  the  winter  of  1896-7  we  again  provided 
food  to  an  average  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  each 
day,  nearly  all  widows  and  children. 

When  the  rebellion  was  over  the  Mohammedans 
were  no  longer  permitted  to  reside  in  the  east  sub- 
urb, where  formerly  they  numbered  ten  thousand 


280         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

persons,  save  a  few  of  the  poor  widows  who  gained 
a  subsistence  by  begging,  but  were  sent  to  reside  in 
a  few  villages  thirty  miles  from  the  city.  Occa- 
sionally we  have  a  visit  from  some  of  the  women 
and  it  is  cheering  to  find  that  they  remember  much 
of  what  was  told  them  in  those  years  of  their  ad- 
versity, and  we  may  hope  that  some  at  least  will 
meet  us  in  the  white-robed  throng  hereafter. 

At  present  we  have  one  Mohammedan  woman, 
much  interested  in  the  Gospel,  who  comes  regularly 
to  worship  on  Sundays  when  the  farmers  are  not 
busy.  One  difficulty  stands  in  their  way  and  that 
is,  the  Chinese  women  hate  them  and  scorn  to  sit 
beside  them,  and  we  cannot  wonder,  for  they  have 
suffered  much  at  their  hands,  many  having  lost 
their  all  twice  in  their  lifetime,  and  some  thrice; 
nevertheless,  we  are  thankful  for  the  more  Christ- 
like  spirit  shown  towards  them  by  the  Christians, 
who  are  willing  to  forget  the  past  and  give  them 
a  welcome,  converse  with  them  freely,  and  recognize 
them  as  sisters  for  whom  also  Christ  hath  died. 

There  are  two  sects  of  Mohammedans  in  our  dis- 
trict and  there  are  often  serious  quarrels  between 
them,  and  some  of  the  people  fear  that  if  many 
Mohammedans  became  Christians  serious  trouble 
might  ensue ;  but  we  feel  sure  that  if  the  Christians 
manifest  the  spirit  of  their  Master,  loving  their  ene- 
mies, blessing  their  persecutors,  praying  for  those 
who  ill-treat  them,  that  finally  they  would  disarm 
their  hatred  and  be  permitted  to  live  in  peace; 


IN   FAR-OFF   CATHAY  281 

whereas  the  two  sects  lacking  that  inward  spiritual 
grace,  hating  each  other,  and  backbiting  each  other, 
finally  bring  about  strife. 

The  careful  readers  of  this  chapter  will  observe 
from  what  we  have  written  that  the  life  of  their 
Mohammedan  sisters  in  China  is  not  so  hard  and 
prison-like  as  that  of  their  sisters  in  North  Africa, 
Persia,  etc.,  where  they  are  secluded  for  a  lifetime 
in  the  prison-like  harems  at  the  command  of  their 
husbands.  Nevertheless,  their  need  is  just  as  great, 
their  souls  just  as  precious,  their  ignorance  of  spirit- 
ual things  just  as  deep,  their  lives  just  as  much  of 
a  blank,  their  hope  for  the  future  just  as  dark ;  they 
live  and  die  "just  like  animals,"  they  are  wont  to 
say;  and  all  the  hopelessness,  darkness,  and  love- 
lessness  continues  not  because  of  their  SECLUSION 
in  harems  at  the  mercy  of  their  husbands  but  be- 
cause of  their  EXCLUSION  from  their  right  to  the 
joys  and  hope  of  the  Christian  life  by  the  luke- 
warm indifference  of  the  Church  of  Christ  to-day, 
which  fails  to  realize  the  great  responsibility  to 
carry  the  Gospel  to  every  creature. 

In  our  vast  parish,  stretching  one  hundred  miles 
from  east  to  west  and  two  hundred  and  thirty  miles 
from  southeast  to  northwest,  comprising  six  cities, 
sixteen  walled  towns,  and  thousands  of  villages  with 
a  mixed  population  of  Chinese,  Mohammedans, 
Mongolians,  Tibetans,  and  aborigines,  my  husband 
and  I  are  left  to  labor  alone.  This  does  not  spell 
seclusion  but  exclusion  from  the  knowledge  of  the 


282         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

Way  of  Salvation  for  tens  of  thousands  of  souls 
for  whom  Christ  died. 

When  Jesus  saw  the  leper  He  had  compassion  on 
him;  when  He  saw  the  widow  of  Nain  He  said 
"Weep  not" ;  when  the  mourners  wept  at  the  grave 
of  Lazarus  He  saw  them  and  wept  also;  when  He 
looked  from  the  Mount  of  Olives  on  the  city  of 
Jerusalem  and  thought  of  her  doom,  He  wept. 
Would  that  in  a  vision  or  in  a  dream  of  the  night, 
you  could  behold  something  of  the  hopelessness  of 
your  less  favored  sisters;  would  that  you  could  hear 
just  a  few  of  their  plaintive  cries  and  see  tears  roll- 
ing down  their  cheeks  as  they  unburden  their  sor- 
rows to  the  sympathetic  ear.  Then,  methinks,  you 
would  not  rest  till  you  had  accomplished  something 
to  make  these  many  dark  hearts  brighter  and  sad 
hearts  lighter. 


XXIII 

OUR  MOSLEM  SISTERS  IN  JAVA 
(.Translated from  the  Dutch) 

THE  life  of  the  Mohammedan  woman  in  general 
here  is  not  that  of  a  being  on  a  par  with  man,  but 
rather  comparable  with  that  of  a  dumb  animal,  a 
creature  inferior  to  and  much  less  worthy  than  man, 
which  is  kept  and  utilized  as  long  as  it  performs 
some  services. 

Fatalism,  as  taught  and  nourished  by  Islam, 
places  the  woman  in  a  servile  relationship  to  the 
man,  so  much  so  that  she,  although  considered  a 
creature  of  no  particular  value,  does  not  take  of- 
fence at  being  accounted  a  negligible  quantity. 

Maltreatment  of  women  takes  place  occasionally 
but  is  by  no  means  general,  because  nothing  hinders 
the  husband  from  driving  away  his  wife  with  whom 
he  may  not  be  satisfied,  without  even  observing  the 
simplest  form  of  a  legal  procedure. 

Why  should  the  man,  particularly  amongst  Mos- 
lems, "the  Lord  of  Creation,"  weary  himself  or 
even  become  angry,  seeing  it  is  far  wiser  and  more 
profitable  that  he  exchange  the  worn-out  wife  and 
mother,  who  can  no  longer  add  to  the  number  of  his 

283 


284         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

children,  for  a  younger  and  stronger  wife?  This 
profitable  barter,  too,  need  cost  him  but  a  trifle. 

This  exchange  of  wives  has  even  a  more  demor- 
alizing tendency  than  the  practice  of  polygamy 
itself,  which  luxury  only  those  can  participate  in 
whose  salary  is  at  least  fifteen  florins  per  month. 

The  results  of  the  sinful  practice  of  polygamy, 
especially  for  the  children  and  consequently  for  the 
state,  would  be  less  sad  to  contemplate,  were  it  not 
that  the  polygamist  exchanges  his  wife  as  readily 
for  another  as  he  who  can  afford  but  one  wife 
at  a  time. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  for  me  to  enumerate  here 
the  effects  of  this  evil  of  which  the  wife  is  the  vic- 
tim. 

This  much-loved  evil  is  a  strong  bulwark  against 
the  spread  of  the  ethics  of  Christianity. 

A  second  and  a  very  powerful  opponent  of  mis- 
sion work  is  found  in  the  peculiar  Mohammedan 
village  organization,  in  which  the  Moslem  sheikh  or 
spiritual  leader  plays  the  most  important  role. 

Another  peculiarity  of  Islam  here,  is  the  fact 
that  the  inland  population  and  the  millions  of  in- 
habitants who  live  in  the  lowlands  of  Java  are 
peculiarly  interrelated  and  mutually  dependent. 
Only  in  a  few  of  the  larger  towns  in  Java  do  we 
find  the  trades  practised. 

The  villager  is  a  farmer,  and  since  rice  is  the  chief 
article  of  food  and  this  must  be  raised  by  irriga- 
tion channels  in  a  hilly  country  like  Java,  the  vil- 


OUR  MOSLEM  SISTERS  IN  JAVA      285 

lagers  are,  as  a  matter  of  course,  compelled  to  live  at 
peace  with  one  another,  becoming  interdependent 
through  the  production  of  the  staff  of  life. 

A  Moslem  family  that  becomes  Christian  soon 
experiences  deprivation.  The  so-called  "silent 
power"  soon  makes  its  influence  felt,  ostracising 
them  from  every  privilege. 

This  becomes  the  more  easy  to  understand  when 
we  remember  that  the  division  of  the  cultivable  soil 
and  of  the  water  supply  with  all  other  civil  rights 
and  privileges,  are  entrusted  by  Dutch  law  to  the 
Mohammedan  village  government,  in  which  the 
Moslem  sheikh  or  priest  enjoys  an  ex-officio  vote. 

Because  of  this  peculiar  condition  of  life  in  the 
East  Indies,  the  writer  and  other  missionaries  in 
Java  have  purposely  settled  in  an  inland  district  in 
the  very  midst  of  the  Mohammedan  population, 
where  those  families  who  have  embraced  Christi- 
anity may  gather  about  the  mission  centre  and  grad- 
ually form  a  nucleus  (in  course  of  time  a  village  or 
town),  where  independent  legal  privileges  may  be 
enjoyed  and  the  people  ruled  over  by  their  own 
native  Christian  chiefs.  In  this  manner  these  com- 
munities can  gradually  become  "a  salt"  and  "a 
light"  for  their  Mohammedan  environment. 

Of  very  much  importance  in  this  connection  is 
the  action  taken  by  Her  Majesty,  our  beloved  Queen 
Wilhelmina,  who — at  the  request  of  our  former 
Minister  of  Colonies,  the  Honorable  Mr.  Van  Iden- 
burg,  at  present  Governor  of  Paramaribo,  in  South 


286         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

America — commissioned  the  States-General  of  the 
Netherlands  to  describe  and  protect  the  legal  status 
of  the  native  Christians. 

By  reason  of  this  our  Christian  converts  can  now 
claim  at  least  the  right  of  existence,  and  even  the 
native  Christian  woman  can  obtain  that  justice  be- 
fore the  law  to  which  she  is  entitled. 


XXIV 
THE  MOHAMMEDAN  WOMEN  OF  MALAYSIA 

MALAYSIA  comprises  the  Malay  Peninsula  and 
Archipelago.  The  latter  includes  the  great  islands 
of  Sumatra,  Java,  Borneo,  and  Celebes,  and  innu- 
merable smaller  ones.  The  one  island  of  Java  con- 
tains about  three-fourths  of  the  entire  population  of 
Malaysia,  which  is  probably  about  forty  millions.  The 
vast  majority  of  the  population  are  Mohammedans, 
but  the  hill-tribes  of  the  Peninsula  and  of  the  larger 
islands  are  still  heathen,  the  Dyaks  of  Borneo  and 
the  Battas  of  Sumatra  being  the  most  numerous  of 
the  non-Mohammedan  races.  There  are  also  many 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  Chinese  immigrants  in 
Malaysia,  of  whom  only  one  here  and  there  have  be- 
come Mohammedan. 

The  principal  Mohammedan  races  are:  (i)  the 
Malays  proper,  who  inhabit  the  Peninsula,  the  east 
coast  of  Sumatra,  and  the  neighboring  islands,  and 
are  scattered  to  some  extent  amongst  all  the  seaport 
towns  of  the  Archipelago;  (2)  in  Sumatra,  the 
Achinese  in  the  north,  and  the  Rejans  and  Lam- 
pongs  in  the  south;  (3)  in  Java, the  Sundanese  in  the 
west,  the  Javanese  in  the  centre  and  east,  and  the 

387 


288         OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

Madurese  in  the  extreme  east;  and  (4)  the  Bugis  in 
Celebes. 

The  greatest  success  in  the  conversion  of  Moham- 
medans to  Christianity  has  been  achieved  by  the 
German  (Barmen)  Mission  in  Sumatra,  and  chiefly 
amo.ng  the  Battas,  a  very  numerous  heathen  race, 
who  have  been  gradually  won  in  small  numbers  to 
the  faith  of  Islam,  probably  for  centuries.  About 
fifty  thousand  of  the  Battas  are  now  Christians, 
and  many  of  these  were  at  one  time  Mohamme- 
dans. 

In  Java  the  Dutch  have  made  considerable  efforts 
to  convert  the  natives  to  Christianity  for  three  hun- 
dred years  past,  and  as  the  result  of  this  early  work 
there  are  considerable  Christian  communities  still 
existing.  It  is  only  within  the  last  century,  how- 
ever, that  the  work  of  the  missionary  societies  has 
infused  new  life  into  the  work  of  converting  the 
Mohammedans.  The  greatest  numerical  success  has 
been  achieved  by  those  who  devote  their  efforts  to 
the  founding  of  Christian  communities  in  villages  of 
their  own,  entirely  distinct  from  the  Mohammedans, 
with  their  own  Christian  village  headmen.  It  is 
found  that  in  the  Mohammedan  villages  the  Chris- 
tians suffer  so  much  persecution  from  the  headmen 
and  others,  that  in  some  cases  Christianity  has  been 
entirely  stamped  out,  and  the  Christians  have  dis- 
appeared, no  one  knows  where.  The  Christian  vil- 
lages have  in  most  cases  been  established  in  unsettled 
districts,  whole  families  being  moved  from  other 


MOHAMMEDAN  WOMEN  OF  MALAYSIA      289 

places,  and  clearing  the  jungle  to  form  their  own 
settlements.  These  people  have  been  won  to  Christ 
by  preaching  among  the  Mohammedans,  and  are  pro- 
tected from  persecution  by  thus  gathering  them  into 
Christian  communities.  Much  work  is  also  done  by 
means  of  schools  and  dispensaries.  The  Dutch  Gov- 
ernment provides  both  the  school  buildings  and 
salaries  of  schoolmasters,  under  certain  rules,  and  it 
also  erects  hospitals,  and  provides  medicines  free  to 
every  missionary.  There  are  also  instances  in  which 
Christian  communities  have  grown  up  in  the  midst 
of  Mohammedan  surroundings,  and  it  is  claimed  that 
such  Christians  are  of  a  stronger  type,  and  exercise 
a  more  powerful  influence  among  their  fellow- 
countrymen.  A  Dutch  missionary  writes  that 
polygamy  and  divorce  are  very  prevalent  in  Java, 
there  being  many  who  have  changed  husbands  or 
wives  as  many  as  ten  or  twenty  times.  The  man 
has  to  pay  the  priest  two  guilders  for  a  divorce,  but 
a  woman  would  have  to  pay  twenty-five  guilders; 
the  latter  is  known  as  "Buffalo  divorce,"  i.  e.,  brutal. 
In  Java  the  second  wife  is  called  "A  fire  in  the 
house."  Four  wives  are  allowed,  and  any  number 
of  concubines.  In  case  of  divorce  the  girls  follow 
the  father,  and  the  boys  follow  the  mother.  Di- 
vorced women  are  often  in  straitened  circumstances 
and  become  concubines  or  the  kept  mistresses  of 
Europeans  or  even  of  the  Chinese. 

The  largest  Christian  communities  in  Malaysia 
are  in  North  Celebes  and  on  the  island  of  Amboina. 


290         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

These  are  the  result  of  the  early  labors  of  the 
chaplains  of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company. 

Among  the  Malays  proper  very  little  missionary 
work  has  been  attempted,  and  practically  nothing 
has  been  accomplished.  From  1815  to  1843  tne 
London  Missionary  Society  carried  on  work  among 
the  Malays  at  Penang,  Malacca,  and  Singapore,  but 
then  withdrew  all  their  missionaries  to  China,  with 
the  exception  of  Rev.  B.  P.  Keasberry,  who  con- 
tinued to  work  among  the  Malays  in  Singapore  as  a 
self-supporting  missionary  until  his  death,  in  1872. 
He  baptized  a  few  Malays,  both  men  and  women, 
one  or  two  of  whom  are  still  living,  but  make  no 
profession  of  Christianity.  Within  the  last  twenty 
years  we  know  of  one  Malay  man  and  two  or  three 
women  who  have  been  converted  to  Christianity  and 
baptized  in  Singapore  and  Penang,  none  of  whom 
has  gone  back  to  Islam. 

The  extent  to  which  polygamy  is  practised  among 
the  Malays  depends  very  greatly  upon  the  amount 
which  has  to  be  paid  as  dowry,  and  this  varies  very 
much  in  the  different  parts  of  the  Peninsula  and 
Eastern  Sumatra.  Divorce,  however,  is  common 
everywhere.  In  our  personal  intercourse  with  the 
Malays,  we  have  realized  how  very  much  the  women 
resemble  those  of  other  nationalities  in  their  aspira- 
tions, but  how  useless  it  is  for  them  to  try  to  make 
any  real  progress,  because  they  are  so  tied  by  cus- 
toms. They  say,  "We  must  be  content  to  live  as  we 
do,  for  we  are  powerless  to  do  otherwise."  When 


MOHAMMEDAN  WOMEN  OF  MALAYSIA      291 

they  go  out  for  walks  they  must  be  closely  veiled  or 
covered,  and  must  walk  in  front  of  the  men,  which 
seems  courteous  to  us  until  we  are  told  the  reason, 
which  is  that  the  men  can  watch  them,  and  see  that 
they  do  not  cast  glances  at  other  men.  Many  of  the 
women  learn  to  read  the  Koran,  and  a  few  learn  to 
read  and  write  Malayan  in  the  government  vernacu- 
lar schools,  but  the  latter  is  sometimes  objected  to  on 
the  ground  that  the  girls  will  write  letters  to  men. 
It  is  very  difficult  to  get  Malay  girls  to  attend  a 
Christian  school,  for  fear  they  might  become  Chris- 
tians. The  people  living  in  the  agricultural  districts 
seem  to  be  happy  and  contented,  and  yet  here  polyg- 
amy is  more  common  than  in  the  towns.  The  heart 
of  the  wife  and  mother  is  often  burdened  because 
her  husband  has  taken  a  second  or  third  wife,  when 
there  is  little  enough  money  for  one  family  to  live 
upon.  As  a  rule  the  men  do  not  want  their  wives 
to  know  when  they  are  taking  new  wives.  They 
usually  say  they  are  going  away  to  work  for  a  few 
days.  We  have  been  asked  to  write  letters  to  such 
husbands  requesting  money,  and  begging  the  hus- 
band to  return.  Sometimes  the  answers  to  these 
letters  contain  loving  messages  to  the  wife,  asking 
her  not  to  believe  the  stories  told  her,  but  still  he 
returns  not,  or  worse  still,  no  money  comes.  The 
wives  with  tears  streaming  down  their  cheeks  say, 
"How  can  his  small  wages  support  three  or  four 
wives?"  In  one  case  a  wife  received  a  letter  saying 
that  she  could  marry  again,  as  the  husband  had  de- 


OUR   MOSLEM    SISTERS 

cided  to  marry  another  woman.  We  have  been 
asked  by  such  deserted  wives  to  enclose  love  potions 
or  medicine  in  letters  to  win  back  the  love  of  the 
husbands.  The  love  potions  consist  of  the  ashes  of  a 
piece  of  paper  which  has  had  some  words  written  on 
it  and  is  afterwards  burnt,  the  ashes  being  put  in  a 
paper,  enclosed  in  a  letter  and  sent  to  a  friend,  who 
is  requested  to  put  it  in  a  cup  of  coffee,  and  give 
it  to  the  wayward  husband.  One  woman  whom  we 
knew  personally  had  been  deserted  by  her  husband; 
she  lived  in  a  house  by  herself,  and  would  not  leave 
it  for  more  than  an  hour  at  a  time,  fearing  her  hus- 
band would  return  and  accuse  her  of  unfaithfulness. 
She  earned  her  living  partly  by  taking  in  sewing, 
and  her  relatives  would  help  her  as  they  could.  A 
young  girl  was  to  be  married  to  a  man  who  had  a 
wife  and  family  in  another  town.  We  asked  the 
girl's  mother  if  she  knew  about  this.  She  replied, 
"Yes,  but  he  has  fair  wages;  he  can  support  two 
wives."  We  enquired  of  a  relative  of  the  bride- 
groom's first  wife  if  she  knew  her  husband  was  to 
be  married  again.  She  answered,  "He  will  not  tell 
her,  but  I  am  sure  she  will  feel  it  in  her  heart." 
In  many  cases  the  deserted  wives  have  to  support 
the  children,  which  they  do  by  sewing  or  making  and 
selling  cakes. 


THOSE  of  us  who  have  read  the  pages  of  this  book 
right  through  to  the  end,  will  find  such  words  as  are 
at  the  head  of  this  chapter  rise  involuntarily  to  our 
lips.  What  must  we  do? 

Thank  God,  He  has  a  plan.  "He  sent  not  His  Son 
into  the  world  to  condemn  the  world,  but  that  the 
world  through  Him  might  be  saved."  "It  is  not 
the  will  of  your  Father  in  Heaven  that  one  of  these 
little  ones  should  perish."  Then  let  us  all  ask  Him 
to  teach  us  how  these  countless  Moslem  women  and 
girls  may  be  saved.  He  can  bless  the  old  ways  of 
work  and  He  can  lead  into  new  ways. 

The  following  methods  have  been  tried  and  each 
one  is  capable  of  further  development. 

Women's  medical  work  has  removed  prejudice 
and  opened  closed  doors.  We  should  have  many 
more  women  missionary  doctors.  We  should  also 
have  many  qualified  nurses,  especially  those  skilled 
in  midwifery.  They  are  often  only  summoned  to 
attend  difficult  or  dangerous  cases,  so  that  it  is  a 
necessity  to  be  thoroughly  efficient,  and  they  need  to 
do  the  work  in  a  missionary  spirit.  Women's  hos- 
pitals as  a  base  of  operations  are  needed,  so  that  those 

293 


294         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

who  cannot  be  attended  to  in  their  own  homes,  with 
any  hope  of  cure,  may  be  admitted  to  the  hospital. 
But  there  should  be  associated  with  every  nurse  or 
doctor  some  workers  who  are  wholly  given  up  to 
evangelistic  work.  Through  lack  of  these  much  of 
the  influence  of  the  medical  missionary  fails  to 
accomplish  its  wished-for  result.  The  doctors  and 
nurses  feel  this  themselves  strongly.  The  same  is 
felt  everywhere  amongst  educational  missionaries. 
The  work  of  the  school  needs  to  be  followed  up  by 
the  visit  to  the  home.  There  are  countless  doors 
open  to  the  young  wives  who  have  been  taught  in 
school,  and  who  would  delight  in  a  visit  from  one  of 
the  mission  ladies. 

This  might  be  done  by  older  workers  and  we  ear- 
nestly urge  that  women's  missionary  boards  and 
societies  should  be  willing  to  receive  women  for  this 
department  older  than  they  can  take  for  school  or 
medical  work.  The  language  is  learnt  through  con- 
stant intercourse  with  the  women.  If  older  women 
who  could  meet  their  own  expenses  might  be  allowed 
to  give  themselves  solely  to  this  evangelistic  work, 
we  believe  that  a  large  increase  would  be  made  to 
our  missionary  force. 

Women's  settlements  are  only  beginning  to  be 
tried  in  different  parts  of  the  field,  but  we  believe 
that  this  method  would  be  found  very  helpful  both 
in  towns  and  villages,  but  especially  in  the  villages. 
The  thought  is,  to  have  a  group  of  about  four 
workers  and  one  or  two  native  helpers  living  to- 


A  CRY   OF    DISTRESS   FROM   ALGIERS 


"WHAT   WILT   THOU?"  295 

gather,  composing  a  women's  household,  into  which 
the  Moslem  women  may  freely  come  without  fear 
of  meeting  any  men.  These  settlements  should  be 
within  easy  reach  of  an  ordinary  mission  station,  so 
that  the  work  should  be  part  of  the  whole,  and  the 
husbands  should  be  cared  for  by  others  at  the  same 
time.  School,  medical,  and  evangelistic  work  may 
all  be  done  from  a  settlement. 

It  is  felt  in  the  educational  work  that  girl's  board- 
ing schools  are  far  more  fruitful  for  good  than  day 
schools.  One  sort  of  school  that  seems  to  have  had 
the  happiest  results  has  been  where  a  lady  missionary 
has  a  little  group  of  some  twelve  girls  living  with 
her.  They  are  her  companions  night  and  day;  she 
shares  all  their  conversation,  their  play,  their  house- 
hold duties,  their  lessons.  The  pure,  refining  influ- 
ence of  her  constant  companionship  has  more  effect 
on  these  young  lives  than  any  other  that  has  been 
tried.  Will  not  many  Christian  women  give  them- 
selves to  such  work  as  this? 

Much  might  be  done  in  the  way  of  small  orphan- 
ages for  girls,  or  homes  where  the  children  of  di- 
vorced mothers  might  be  received. 

The  possibilities  before  us  of  what  these  girls 
might  become  through  the  home  training  of  several 
years  are  almost  unlimited.  The  natural  intelligence 
and  sweetness  of  character  shown  by  many  of  them 
show  what  might  be  made  of  them.  They  have  all 
the  light-heartedness  and  merry  ways  of  western 
girls,  with  the  same  tenderness  towards  suffering. 


296         OUR   MOSLEM   SISTERS 

And  at  the  same  time  there  is  a  strength  of  character 
and  determination  of  will  that  not  only  explains,  per- 
haps, many  of  the  divorces  which  now  take  place,  but 
it  raises  hopes  of  what  these  girls  may  become,  and 
may  acomplish  for  the  regeneration  of  their  people. 

If  they  become  followers  of  Christ,  they  are  of 
the  stuff  of  which  martyrs  are  made.  One  little 
girl  in  a  mission  school  in  Egypt  stood  up  in  front 
of  all  her  companions  and  boldly  said  that  she  be- 
lieved in  Jesus.  The  news  was  quickly  told  at  home 
and  she  was  severely  beaten.  A  day  or  two  after- 
wards, she  was  back  in  her  place  at  school.  Her 
teacher  asked  had  she  been  beaten  very  much. 
"Yes,"  she  said,  "but  never  mind,  wasn't  Jesus 
beaten  for  me?" 

The  centuries  of  oppression  that  have  passed  over 
the  heads  of  these  women  have  not  crushed  their 
spirit.  It  rises  afresh  against  all  the  stupidity  and 
ignorance  of  those  who  oppress  them.  And  men 
still  find  out  even  among  Moslems: 

"What  man  on  earth  hath  power  or  skill 
To  stem  the  torrent  of  a  woman's  will? 
For  when  she  will,  she  will,  you  may  depend  on't, 
And  when  she  won't,  she  won't,  and  there's  an  end  on't." 

That  efforts  to  educate  and  train  the  girls  are 
really  appreciated  by  the  men  is  evident  from  one 
fact  known  of  large  training  schools  in  Syria.  We 
are  told  that  not  one  girl  graduated  there  has  been 
divorced,  nor  have  any  of  their  husbands  introduced 


"WHAT   WILT   THOU?"          297 

a  second  wife  into  their  homes.  This  shows  us  that 
what  the  Moslem  man  really  needs  is  a  wife  who  is 
able  to  be  a  companion  to  him.  One  who  can  talk  to 
him,  keep  his  home  neat,  and  knows  how  to  take  care 
of  his  children.  And  in  many  a  case  the  lessons  of 
heavenly  things  which  the  young  wife  has  learnt 
at  school  have  been  willingly  listened  to  by  the 
husband. 

The  chief  aim  in  our  work  should  be  to  have  con- 
stant touch  with  the  girls,  to  love  them,  to  win  their 
love,  and  to  live  Christ  before  them,  not  resting  sat- 
isfied with  anything  short  of  their  salvation. 

But  all  this  needs  to  be  taken  up  in  dead  earnest; 
and  Christian  women  can  only  do  it  in  the  power  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  yielding  their  lives  wholly  to  the 
Lord  for  it.  If  we  do  rise  to  it,  and  diligently  give 
ourselves  to  win  the  women  and  girls  of  Islam  for 
Christ,  and  train  them  up  to  live  for  Him  in  their 
homes,  we  shall  find  the  answer  to  Abraham's  prayer 
for  his  son  Ishmael  begin  to  come  true:  "As  for 
Ishmael  I  have  heard  thee.  Behold  I  have  blessed 
him," — and  God's  blessing  is  life  for  evermore. 

And  to  Our  Moslem  Sisters  may  come  again  the 
words  that  were  spoken  to  Hagar :  "The  Lord  hath 
heard  thy  affliction."  "And  she  called  the  name  of  the 
Lord  that  spake  unto  her,  Thou  God  seest  me,  for  she 
said,  Have  I  also  here  looked  after  Him  that  seeth 
me."  The  fountain  of  water  in  the  wilderness  by 
which  the  angel  found  her  was  called  Beer  lahai-roi : 
"The  well  of  Him  that  Hveth  and  seeth  me."  And 


298         OUR    MOSLEM    SISTERS 

the  very  name  of  Ishmael  means,  "God  shall  hear." 
Is  it  not  an  invitation  and  an  encouragement  to  us 
to  take  on  our  hearts  these  multitudes  of  their  chil- 
dren and  claim  the  promises  for  them?  Blessing  is 
life.  "I  am  come  that  they  might  have  life  and  that 
they  might  have  it  more  abundantly." 

For  this  end  we  ask  you  to  enter  into  a  covenant 
of  prayer  with  us,  that  we  may  not  cease  to  intercede 
for  our  broken-hearted  sisters,  that  they  may  be 
comforted,  and  for  the  captives  of  Satan,  that  they 
may  be  set  free,  that  the  prison  gates  may  be  opened 
for  them  so  that  the  oil  of  joy  may  be  given  them 
for  mourning,  the  garment  of  praise  for  the  spirit 

of  heaviness. 

"Life!  life!  eternal  life! 
Jesus  alone  is  the  giver. 
Life!  life!  abundant  life! 
Glory  to  Jesus  for  ever." 

When  this  Life  becomes  theirs,  Our  Moslem  Sis- 
ters will  be  our  own  sisters  in  a  new  sense  of  the 
word,  and  we  shall  see  the  evangelization  of  the 
Mohammedan  home  and  of  all  Moslem  lands. 

A  PRAYER. 

"O  Lord  God,  to  whom  the  sceptre  of  right  be- 
longeth,  lift  up  Thyself  and  travel  in  the  greatness 
of  Thy  strength  throughout  the  Mohammedan  lands 
of  the  East;  because  of  the  anointing  of  Thy  Son 
Jesus  Christ  as  Thy  true  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King, 
destroy  the  sword  of  Islam,  and  break  the  yoke  of 


"WHAT   WILT   THOU?"          299 

the  false  prophet  Mohammed  from  off  the  necks  of 
Egypt,  Arabia,  Turkey,  Persia,  and  other  Moslem 
lands,  so  that  there  may  be  opened  throughout  these 
lands  a  great  door  and  effectual  for  the  Gospel,  that 
the  Word  of  the  Lord  may  have  free  course  and  be 
glorified,  and  the  veil  upon  so  many  hearts  may  be 
removed,  through  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord.  Amen." 
(From  the  C.  M.  S.  Cycle  of  Prayer.) 


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